The IPO says that the aim of the new online tool is to help individuals and businesses improve their chances of successfully registering a trade mark using the power of Artificial Intelligence. It is aimed at people who have not applied for a trade mark before, and have little or no knowledge of the application process. Customers can use the tool before they apply for a trade mark to:

• check if anyone already has a trade mark too similar to the one they want;
• identify whether aspects of their proposed trade mark are not appropriate, such as offensive words or protected symbols (for example, geographical indications);
• identify the right groups of goods and services for their proposed trade mark; and
• see an estimate of their application costs.

The tool does not:

• save the data that is input;
• give legal advice; or
• form part of the formal trade mark application process: it provides guidance to help with the formal application.

The IPO says that the tool is designed around customer feedback and features AI powered checks and searches to produce “meaningful, tailored and helpful results”. To read the IPO’s press release in full and for further information on how to use the new tool, click here.