How to trade mark a name in South Africa
Eight steps, in order: from checking the name is free to the registration certificate. What each step costs, how long it takes and the three mistakes that cost people their name.
To trade mark a name in South Africa you check that the name is free, choose the classes it needs and file an application at CIPC, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. Through an attorney it costs R2,990 per class, all in. Filing can be done immediately with payment and requisite documents; the registration certificate takes about 24 months; your rights run from the day you file – so this is the most important date.
You do not need a company first, and you do not need a logo. A name on its own, in plain text, is the strongest thing you can register. Here are the eight steps in order.
Step 1: check that the name can be registered
The test is whether the name can distinguish your goods or services from everyone else’s. Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 requires it. A made-up word (KODAK) or a real word with no link to the product (APPLE for computers) registers easily. A word that merely describes what you sell (FRESH for juice, BEST for anything) does not.
| Kind of name | Example | Will it register? |
|---|---|---|
| Invented | KODAK | Yes, and it is the strongest kind |
| Arbitrary | APPLE for computers | Yes |
| Suggestive | JAGUAR for cars | Yes |
| Descriptive | FRESH for juice | Only with proof the public already knows it as yours |
| Generic | APPLE for apples | No |
Surnames, place names and laudatory words sit near the weak end. They can sometimes be registered, often with a disclaimer or evidence of use, but a distinctive name saves the argument.
Step 2: search the register
Use the free register search on this site. It reads the South African register and needs no account. Look for three things, in your classes and the related ones:
- The same name or something that looks confusingly similar. An earlier application or registration for the same goods blocks you.
- A name that sounds the same or confusingly similar. KWIK and QUICK conflict. So do names with one letter changed.
- A name that means the same. SUNRISE and DAYBREAK can conflict for the same goods.
The free search shows you what is on the register. It does not tell you whether your name will register, which is a judgement about similarity, goods and the strength of what you found. A Focused Search and Opinion at R2,750 answers that in three to four business days.
Step 3: choose your classes
South Africa sorts every product and service into 45 classes of goods and services and takes one application per class. A name for clothing is class 25. Selling other brands’ clothing as well is class 35. Three classes is three applications at R2,990 each.
The class guide lists all 45 and has a free class finder: describe what you sell and it suggests the classes. File for what you sell now and what you plan to sell; adding a class later is a new application with a new filing date.
Step 4: decide what to file – the name, the logo or both
A word mark protects the name in any font, colour or styling. It is the widest protection you can get for a name. A logo protects the name as it is drawn, which is the stronger right against a competitor whose name reads differently but looks the same.
Most businesses file both, as two applications. If you can only file one, file the word mark if it is available – or a more distinctive logo if there is a higher risk refusal. The symbols guide covers when you may use ™ and ®.
Step 5: file at CIPC
Anyone may file. CIPC’s own fee is R590 per class, and the CIPC guide explains that route honestly. Through BrandLaw it is R2,990 per class, which includes the R590, the drafting of the goods and services, plus an attorney as your address for service so every deadline is diarised, expertise to maximise likelihood of successful registration and scope of protection and value, watching out for new conflicts and maintaining your mark until it is due for renewal in 10 years.
You sign a power of attorney (no notarisation), we file, and CIPC issues an application number and filing date within one to three days. You may use the ™ symbol in relation to your mark.
Steps 6 to 8: examination, advertisement, registration
- Examination, 8 to 12 months after filing. The examiner accepts the name, accepts it with conditions (a disclaimer of a descriptive word is the usual one) or provisionally refuses it. A response is due within three months, and the application lapses if none is filed.
- Advertisement. The accepted name is published and anyone has three months to oppose.
- Registration, about 24 months from filing. The certificate issues. Your rights run from the filing date, not the certificate date, for ten years, and the mark is renewable for ten years at a time. Now you may use ®.
In a straightforward case nothing beyond the R2,990 is payable. If the examiner raises something, further steps or costs may apply (which we quote beforehand).
The three mistakes that cost people their name
1. A registered company name is not a trade mark
Registering a company at CIPC reserves that exact name for a company. It gives no right to stop anyone using the name as a brand, and it does not stop someone else registering it as a trade mark. The two registers are separate and CIPC does not check one against the other. If the name matters, register it as a trade mark.
2. A domain or a social handle gives no rights
Owning brandname.co.za or @brandname proves you got there first on that platform and nothing more. The platforms themselves will act on a copycat only when you can show trade mark rights (or in some cases at least an application).
3. Filing only the logo
A logo registration protects the picture and/or the specific design of your name. If you completely change the design in a rebrand, then the protection goes with it. The name in plain text is the asset that survives every redesign.
Who owns a name: use, then registration
South Africa is not a first-to-file country. Rights in a name come first from using it and building a reputation: the common law protects that through an action called passing off, and an earlier user with a reputation can act even against a later registration – but this is much more difficult and expensive to prove that simply being first to file,
Registration adds what use cannot: exclusive rights across the whole country from the filing date, without proving years of use, and the right to sue for infringement under the Trade Marks Act and claim royalty payments without having to prove actual damages. Whoever registers first holds that leverage against anyone without an established reputation. That is why the order of the steps matters: search, then file, before you spend on the brand.
What if the name is already taken?
- Different goods or services, different classes. The same name can coexist for unrelated products or services. An attorney can tell you whether yours are far enough apart.
- The earlier mark is dead. Lapsed, withdrawn and expired marks are not obstacles unless they are still in use and have an established reputation in South Africa. Our search shows the status.
- Buy it. Registered marks can be assigned. Some are listed for sale on this site; for others we can ask the owner.
- Change it. It is much cheaper to rebrand before launch than after you are already invested in it, and now are forced to change it and all of your marketing materials after receiving a letter of demand.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to trade mark a name in South Africa?
R2,990 per class through BrandLaw, which includes CIPC’s R590 official fee. Filing it yourself at CIPC costs R590 per class. A Focused Search and Opinion before filing is R2,750.
How long does it take?
Days to file and get an application number. About 24 months to the registration certificate in a straightforward case. Your rights run from the filing date.
Do I need a company before I can trade mark a name?
No. An individual can own a trade mark. If you later form a company, the mark can be assigned to it and the change recorded.
Can I trade mark my own name?
Often, yes, where the name is used as a brand and can distinguish your goods or services. Common surnames are weaker and the examiner may ask for evidence of use or a disclaimer.
Can I trade mark a name for free?
No. CIPC charges R590 per class whoever files. The register search on this site is free, and so is the AI report that suggests your classes and likely conflicts.
Is a trade mark the same as a company name or a domain?
No. A company registration, a domain and a social handle each reserve a name on one system. Only a trade mark registration gives you the right to stop others using the name as a brand.
Related guides
- What trade mark registration really costs
- How CIPC registration works (and the DIY route)
- When you may use ™ and ®
- Official action from CIPC: what it means and what to do
- Trade mark opposition: procedure and costs
- What is a trade mark?
- Trade mark attorneys: who files your mark and what it costs
Written and reviewed by
Stephan Viollier – Trade Mark & IP Attorney, SAIIPL-certified, admitted in South Africa and the United States (New York)
This page explains South African trade mark practice in general terms. It is information, not legal advice on your particular mark – for that, talk to us.
