A trade mark is registered at the CIPC Trade Marks office against specific classes of goods or services. You search the register for conflicts, file the application, and it moves through examination, publication and an opposition period before registration — typically 12 to 24 months. Registration gives you the exclusive right to use that mark for those goods and services, and the right to stop others using anything confusingly similar. Your protection dates from the filing date, not the registration date.
Registering a company does none of this. That is the distinction worth understanding before you spend anything.
What a trade mark actually protects
A brand name, logo, slogan, or other distinctive mark that identifies your goods or services and distinguishes them from everyone else's.
Registration gives you an enforceable, exclusive right — you can stop a competitor using your name or anything confusingly close to it, in the classes you registered.
Without registration you are relying on common law passing off, which requires you to prove you built a reputation, that the other party misrepresented, and that you suffered damage. That is expensive, slow and uncertain. A registration certificate is a far stronger position.
A registered trade mark is an asset. It can be sold, licensed, franchised and valued. For a growing business it is frequently the most valuable thing it owns.
Classes: registering for what you actually sell
Trade marks are registered against classes of goods and services under an international classification system — broadly, classes 1 to 34 cover goods and 35 to 45 cover services.
You register in the classes that match your business. A bakery registers in the food classes. A consultancy registers in the relevant services class. A business selling a product and running a service registers in both.
This is where the cost decisions get made. Each class is a separate filing. Registering across every class you might one day use gets expensive fast; registering too narrowly leaves gaps a competitor can walk into.
Get the class advice right at the start. A mark registered in the wrong class protects nothing that matters, and you cannot broaden it later — you file again.
The process
1. Search the register first. This is the step people skip and the one that saves the most money. If a similar mark already exists in your class, your application can be refused or opposed and the filing fee is gone. A search tells you whether to file, or whether to adjust the mark before you do.
2. Decide the classes and the exact form of the mark — the word alone, the logo, or both. A word mark and a device mark protect different things.
3. File the application with the CIPC Trade Marks office. Your priority runs from the filing date, which means the protection clock starts immediately even though registration is a long way off.
4. Examination. CIPC examines the mark for registrability and for conflicts with existing marks. Objections at this stage can often be answered.
5. Publication. Accepted marks are published in the Patent Journal, opening a window for anyone to oppose the registration.
6. Registration. Once the opposition period passes without a successful challenge, the mark is registered and a certificate is issued.
Timeline: 12 to 24 months is normal. That is not slow service, it is the process — examination, publication and the opposition window each take real time. Plan around it rather than being surprised by it.
What you can use while you wait
™ can be used on an unregistered mark, including one with an application pending. It signals a claim to the mark.
® may only be used once the mark is actually registered. Using it before registration is a misrepresentation and it is not a good look if you later end up in a dispute.
Your filing date is protecting you in the meantime, which is the practical reason to file early rather than waiting until the brand feels established.
After registration
A registered trade mark lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely in further 10-year periods. Diarise the renewal — an unrenewed mark lapses and the protection goes with it.
Use it, or risk losing it. A mark that is not used in relation to the registered goods or services becomes vulnerable to removal from the register on application by someone else. Registration is not a way to sit on a name you have no intention of using.
Watch the register. Registration gives you the right to oppose confusingly similar marks, but nobody exercises that right on your behalf. Someone has to be looking.
Enforce it. A trade mark you never enforce weakens over time. That does not mean litigating over everything — a letter is usually enough — but consistent silence is not neutral.
Trade mark vs the other things people confuse it with
| What it gives you | |
|---|---|
| Company registration at CIPC | Nobody else registers a company under that name |
| Name reservation | Holds a name at CIPC for six months |
| Domain registration | The web address, nothing more |
| Trade mark | The exclusive right to use the mark commercially, and to stop others |
Company registration is the one that misleads people most. It creates the legal entity and protects the name on the companies register. It does not stop a sole proprietor down the road trading under your brand tomorrow. See registering a business name vs registering a company.
When it is worth registering
Where you are spending money on marketing you would not want a competitor to benefit from.
Where the brand is the business — consumer products, retail, hospitality, anything where customers choose you by name.
Where you plan to franchise or license. You cannot license what you do not own.
Where you are raising funding or preparing to sell. Investors and buyers look for registered intellectual property, and its absence is a discount.
Where you are expanding into new products or new markets under the same brand.
When it can wait
Where you are still testing and the name may well change.
Where the business is genuinely local, personal and service-based with no expansion plan.
Where the mark is descriptive and unlikely to be registrable anyway — see what can and cannot be registered as a trade mark.
Frequently asked questions
How do I register a trade mark in South Africa? Search the register for conflicting marks, decide the classes of goods or services, and file an application with the CIPC Trade Marks office. The application goes through examination, publication in the Patent Journal and an opposition period before it is registered.
How long does trade mark registration take? Typically 12 to 24 months, because of the examination, publication and opposition stages. Your protection dates from the filing date, so the priority is secured from day one even though the certificate comes much later.
How long does a registered trade mark last? Ten years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely in further 10-year periods. An unrenewed mark lapses.
Does registering my company protect my brand name? No. Company registration protects the name on the companies register only — it stops another company being registered under it. It does not stop anyone trading under your brand. A trade mark is what gives you enforceable exclusive rights.
What is a trade mark class? Trade marks are registered against classes of goods and services under an international classification. You register in the classes matching what you sell. Each class is a separate filing, so class selection drives both cost and how much protection you actually get.
Why should I do a search before filing? If a similar mark already exists in your class, the application can be refused or opposed and the filing fee is lost. A search up front tells you whether it is worth filing or whether the mark should be adjusted.
Can I use the ® symbol before my mark is registered? No. ® may only be used once the mark is registered. You may use ™ on an unregistered mark, including one with an application pending.
Can I lose a registered trade mark? Yes. A mark not used in relation to its registered goods or services becomes vulnerable to removal on application by another party, and a mark that is not renewed lapses.
Search first, then file
Almost every wasted trade mark application is one that was filed without a search, in a class that did not match the business, over a mark that was never going to be registrable.
Smartbook runs the conflict search, advises on classes, files with the CIPC Trade Marks office and manages the application through examination and publication to registration.
Last reviewed: 31 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. Trade mark registrability, opposition and infringement are legal matters governed by the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 — take specialist advice on your specific mark. CIPC timelines and fees change from time to time.
Primary sources: CIPC — Trade Marks · Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 · World Intellectual Property Organization