Before registering a trade mark: questions to assess your name, logo and business plan
A name can work well in communication yet prove difficult to protect. Before printing packaging, developing a website or launching a campaign, it is worth connecting the creative choice with a legal assessment. This checklist helps you prepare for discussions with the firm: it does not assign a registrability score or replace a clearance search.
What exactly do you want to protect?
Specify the name in the spelling you intend to use and prepare the logo, if there is one. Mention any variants, taglines and translations. Whether to protect the name, the figurative sign or file several applications depends on the project. You do not need a marketing dossier to get started: it is more useful to know which element must remain recognisable even if the graphics change.
Distinctiveness must be assessed in relation to the goods and services. An expression describing what you sell may raise different issues from an invented name; adding graphics does not automatically solve the problem. The assessment concerns the actual sign.
Which goods or services do you currently offer?
Describe your activity with clear examples: what you sell, to whom and through which channels. Include developments that are genuinely planned. Saying only “trade” or “consulting” may omit important information, while listing every conceivable future activity makes it harder to identify a useful scope.
Classes organise the list of goods and services, but choosing them requires attention to the substance of the business. Marchio Legale helps connect the sign, the specification and the markets before filing.
In which countries do you operate or plan to operate?
Distinguish existing markets from expansion plans. An Italian application, an EU application and protection in other countries address different needs. The fact that a website is accessible from abroad does not, by itself, describe your commercial strategy: information on customers, distribution and growth plans is needed.
Have you already searched for other trade marks?
If you have conducted searches, retain the databases consulted, search terms, date and results. Searching only for an identical name does not exhaust the checks for potentially conflicting earlier rights. The scope and territories of the investigation should be agreed, distinguishing the results found from their interpretation.
Also mention any contact with owners of other signs, challenges received and coexistence agreements. These are useful facts for planning the work, not details to postpone until after filing.
Who should own the trade mark?
Identify the person or company expected to file the application and the party that will use the sign. If the project involves shareholders, agencies, group companies or distributors, clarify their respective roles. Establishing ownership before filing helps prevent documentation from being disconnected from the company’s actual organisation from the outset.
Which costs are you comparing?
When comparing quotations, distinguish searches, analysis, filing, official fees and subsequent work. Ask what is included and what may require a separate engagement. A figure covering only official fees cannot be compared directly with a service that also includes professional assistance.
A useful first enquiry to the firm
Write the name or describe the logo; summarise the activity; indicate the countries of interest; identify the intended owner and planned launch date; and say whether there are existing applications or disputes. With this information, the firm can define the proposed work and distinguish official fees, professional fees and included services.
Marchio Legale is the NL Studio Legale service dedicated to trade mark registration, management and protection. Its lawyers follow the project from defining the protection through to handling possible disputes and contractual relationships.
References and further reading
Information updated on 15 October 2026. Sending an enquiry does not constitute a trade mark filing or automatically create an engagement.
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