Register a US trademark from the UK

Yes. A UK business or individual can register a US trademark. If your domicile is outside the United States, a US-licensed attorney must file the application. A registration with the UKIPO covers the United Kingdom and does not extend to the US.

Brands entering the US market

Three examples show the usual starting points. A London skincare label opening a US web shop. A Manchester software company signing its first American customers. A food producer taking its first US stockist. In each case the UK record is strong at home and invisible to a US examiner, so the US filing is a separate step. For the overview, see registering from abroad.

Your UK filing date may help

If you filed in the UK within the last six months, you may be able to claim that date as a priority date for the US application. That can matter if someone else files a similar name in between. Tell us the UK application number and date at the start. If the six months have passed, the US application can still go ahead and simply carries its own filing date.

Same language, different words

English-language filing is an advantage, but the USPTO expects American wording in the description of goods. A UK retailer's trainers, jumpers and biscuits become sneakers, sweaters and cookies in the US. Spelling in the description follows US usage as well. We translate your product terms into wording the USPTO recognises and send you the final version to approve.

A name can read differently in the US

A word that is ordinary in British English may be unfamiliar in America, or may mean something else there. The reverse also happens. A US business may already use a similar name that no UK search would show. Our free name search checks USPTO records. For goods in clothing, see class 25, and for hosted software, class 42.

Working across 4 to 5 hours

The UK is about 4 to 5 hours ahead of US Eastern time, depending on the season. That leaves several hours of shared working day. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, and an afternoon call from you will usually fall in our morning or midday. Email works for documents and decisions, with a reply within one business day. USPTO deadlines are tracked on the US calendar and shown in your date.

Check your company details

The owner named in the application should be the entity that controls the brand. Many UK founders trade through a limited company while holding the brand personally, or the other way around. We ask which it is and match the application to the answer, because a wrong owner usually cannot be fixed later and can make the application void.

What happens next

After filing, the USPTO review takes about 5.6 months to a first action in recent USPTO data, and about 11.7 months to a final outcome. Our guide on how long a trademark takes explains the stages. Our pricing page shows the total before you decide.

This is general information, not legal advice.