Independent Consulting
The agencies and law firms offering trademark consulting will also try to sell you legal services. While such package deals appear convenient, they may increase your costs, your workload, and even your legal risks. The inherent conflicts of interest make it difficult to distinguish between well-meant advise and up-selling of unnecessary legal services. You will have to advocate for your own interests while facing complexity and uncertainty. But unless you have practical experience with the various international trademark proceedings and law firms, you will incur additional costs. The solution for you might be independent trademark consulting, without conflicts of interest.
Trademark Statistics
The number of registered trademarks has risen dramatically and is now three times as high as ten years ago. With increasing scarcity an international presence becomes more difficult to establish due to the "likelihood of confusion" criterion. Unless indicated otherwise, all statistics are from the WIPO IP Statistics Data Center. The data clearly shows that most international trademark applications will face significant challenges.
+225% registered trademarks worldwide 2013-2023
+140% trademark applications per year worldwide 2013-2023
China
Trademark applications and registrations by class count, 2018-2023
27% not registered
+538% registered trademarks 2013-2023
The vast amount of classes in the Chinese trademark system does distort some statistics, but not the relative increase of registered trademarks by class count. The number of registered trademarks was 538% higher in 2023 than ten years before, with 267% more applications per year. Due to a recent decrease in applications, the ratio of registrations to applications by class count from 2018 to 2023 according to the WIPO is a reasonably accurate indicator. Rouse reports 33.6% total refusals and 14.4% partial refusals. With more than 47 million active registrations the registry is crowded. Non-use cancellations have surged to more than 180.000 per year according to Chang Tsi & Partners, the equivalent of 2.6% of the number of applications, with 90% resulting in full or partial cancellation. Non-resident registrations by class count accounted for only 3.5% in 2023.
European Union
Trademark applications and registrations by class count, 2018-2023
9% not registered
+61% registered trademarks 2013-2023
In Europe it is mostly up to private entities to oppose trademark applications. Data from eSearch for 2023 indicates 9.5% oppositions in addition to 3.5% refusals by the EUIPO, and 91% eventually achieving registration. This perfectly matches the ratio of registrations to applications by class count from 2018 to 2023 according to the WIPO. In ten years since 2013 the registrations on the European level have increased by 67% to 1.578.000, but many more registrations exist in the national registries of the 27 member states. The German registry for example contained 999.000 active registrations in 2023. Registrations by class count per year of Chinese origin increased by 696% from 2013 to 2023 to 8.0%. The percentage for all non-resident registrations by class count was 35.3%. in 2023. By not accounting for class count the percentages increase to 42.6% for non-resident registrations and 13.6% for Chinese origin registrations in 2023. The most recent EUIPO statistics indicate 16% Chinese origin registrations.
India
Trademark applications and registrations by class count, 2018-2023
31% not registered
+226% registered trademarks 2013-2023
The ratio of registrations to applications by class count from 2018 to 2023 according to WIPO indicates that 31% of applications result in no registration. However the IP India statistics for the 2020 to 2024 period show a ratio of registration to applications of only 56.5%. This is caused by a significant backlog. The number of applications increased by 41% in 4 years from 2019/2020 to 2023/2024, but registrations have remained mostly constant. With 82.000 opposition notices in the 2023/2024 period according to IP India statistics there were 225.000 pending opposition cases in 2022 according to Remfry & Sagar. For comparison there were 252.000 registrations by class count and 521.000 applications by class count in 2023. Non-resident registrations by class count accounted for 16.8% in 2023.
USA
Trademark applications and registrations by class count, 2018-2023
43% not registered
+70% registered trademarks 2013-2023
The strict examination process of the USPTO results in a low ratio of registrations to applications by class count from 2018 to 2023 according to WIPO. 43% of all applications didn't proceed to registration. Similar low registration rates can be seen in Canada and Australia. TEAS Plus applications are based on a list of pre-approved goods and services. The "percentage of applications approved upon first action" is 44.3% for TEAS Plus applications and much lower for other application types according to the USPTO, but the overall percentage is not published. In 2013 the USPTO reported opposition proceedings for 2.8% of published applications, while Gerben IP reports 2% for 2020. Registrations by class count per year of Chinese origin increased by 2.306% (sic) from 2013 to 2023 to 17.0% while the percentage of all non-resident registrations by class count was 47% in 2023.
Value Proposition
- Independent trademark consulting can provide a positive return on investment.
- A competent, responsive, and ethical lawyer can reduce your risks and legal expenses significantly. As an independent consultant I can advise you on selecting a lawyer with no conflict of interest.
- Up-selling of optional reporting and monitoring services is a frequent business practice. You can often access the same information on your own for free. Avoiding disadvantageous service fees will further reduce expenses. I can advise you without conflicts of interest.
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Fraud and malpractice are a financial and legal risk. Delaying progress with useless filings, never-ending arguments, withholding and even denying critical information are tactics to generate more billable hours. Sometimes outright billing fraud ("overcharging") occurs. You can rely on my experience with overcharging, significant refunds, and reducing intentional delays, although the goal is to avoid such lawyers in the first place.
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For an hourly rate of 200 GBP you can benefit from my broad experience. USD and EUR invoices are optional. This includes work with 10+ large and small IP law firms from China, the European Union, India, the United Kingdom, and the USA, but also successful trademark applications in 40+ additional jurisdictions - verifiable here. Adjacent areas of expertise are domain name acquisition, domain name valuation, online marketing and advertising.
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Your case will be processed quickly, confidential, and without conflicts of interest.