- Enforced by
- IPO, Trading Standards
- Status
- Amended (in force with amendments)
- Penalty ceiling
- Imprisonment 2 of 20 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 5 carry different penalties and 13 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 11 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.
Other Acts binding the same actors
If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.
Any Person — also bound by 2684 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 482 other Acts
Applicant — also bound by 325 other Acts
What it requires
Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.
Registered trade marks
5 of 61 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Courts must decide on the disposal of seized infringing goodsTribunal / Court
- Register trade mark transactions and licences with the IPOAny Person
- Submit a complete application for trade mark registrationApplicant
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- IPO must examine trade mark applications and allow for amendmentsStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must publish trade mark applications and notify of any observationsStatutory regulator
56 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
European Union trade marks and international matters
1 of 14 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- IPO must maintain a public register of protected state and international symbolsStatutory regulator
13 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Administrative and other supplementary provisions
11 of 39 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must maintain a public register of trade marksStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must provide trade mark information and access to documentsStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must publish an annual report on trade mark activities and financesStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must participate in court proceedings involving trade mark validityStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Registrar must publish trade mark applications in a journalStatutory regulator
- Misrepresent as a registered trade mark agentAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Use a registered trade mark without the owner’s consentAny Person
- Make false entry in trade mark registerAny Person
- Falsely represent a trade mark as registeredAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Courts may order forfeiture and destruction of infringing goodsTribunal / Court
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Courts in Scotland may order forfeiture of infringing goodsTribunal / Court
Unlimited fine
28 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Miscellaneous and general provisions
5 of 13 sections shown- Unauthorised use of Royal arms or royal emblemsAny Person
Fine up to £500
- Correct trade mark reproductions in dictionaries and reference worksAny Person
- Personal liability for trade mark offences by company officers or partnersDirector or Officer
10 years imprisonment · amended 1 time (opens in a new tab)
8 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
0 of 133 shown133 other schedules
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
Growing your business
Plan your growth, find support and funding, and expand to new sites, partners and markets
Grow your retail business
Scale your retail business - expand online, open new locations, build your team, and manage increased compliance as you grow
Grow your tech business
Scale your tech business - funding, international expansion, investment, and preparing for exit
Start a retail business - compliance essentials
Put the legal basics in place before you open a shop: consumer rights, pricing, weights and measures, product safety, data, accessibility, staff …
Respond to a Trading Standards investigation
What to do if Trading Standards has contacted you, visited your premises, or conducted a test purchase. Covers understanding their powers, identifying …
Expanding your childcare business
Grow your childcare business through multi-site expansion, franchising, acquisitions, or building strong Ofsted inspection outcomes
Avoid selling counterfeit goods
Selling goods that carry a trade mark without the owner's permission is a criminal offence, with up to 10 years in prison, …
Check your business name is available
Before you commit to a business name, check it is free at Companies House, on the UK trademark register, and as a …
Choose how to protect your intellectual property
Copyright and unregistered design right protect your work automatically, but they only stop copying. To get exclusive rights in a brand name, …
How business domain names work
You never own a domain name outright. You hold it from a registrar for as long as you keep paying, and anyone …
Protecting Your Software Intellectual Property
Your source code is protected by copyright automatically, at no cost. A patent, lasting up to 20 years, is available only where …
Register a trademark
Registering a UK trademark with the Intellectual Property Office gives you exclusive rights to your business name, logo or slogan for the …
7 more guides that reference this instrument
Connected legislation
Instruments made under this Act. They carry the detail the Act delegates.
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.