New IPO search facility

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. 

The IPO has launched a new service that allows users to search for the goods and services they intend to use their trade mark on before they apply.

Intellectual Property Offices worldwide use a trade mark classification system that groups together similar goods or services into 45 different classes. This is referred to as the Nice Classification.

While a member state of the EU, the IPO contributed to and shared a common classification system called TMClass. TMClass is a classification search tool provided by the EUIPO. With the transition period relating to the UK’s exit from the EU ending on 31 December 2020, a new UK specific database was required.

The search UK trade mark classes service is available from the GOV.UK website.