“It can’t be that hard”

My first instinct was to ring a solicitor. That is what you do with anything that sounds legal.

My second instinct was more stubborn. It can’t be that hard. Let’s see what it is all about.

So I opened up an AI assistant and started asking. What actually is a trade mark? Doesn’t my Companies House registration already cover me? What does it cost? What can go wrong?

These are the questions you feel a bit daft asking a professional who charges by the hour. AI does not mind. It does not sigh, and it does not send an invoice.

By the end of that conversation I understood the whole process. A few months later, the Westlake logo and our “Consider IT Done” strapline were a registered trade mark. You will start seeing a small ® next to it.

What the AI actually did

It did not fill in the form for me. I did that myself. What it did was take the mystery out of it.

• It explained the process in plain English, one step at a time
• It helped me work out which classes of goods and services fit an IT support business
• It told me what to check before I applied
• It warned me about the traps, so nothing came as a surprise

Think of it as a knowledgeable friend who is happy to be asked the same question three times.

What I found out along the way

My company registration did not protect the name. Companies House stops someone else registering the same company name. It does not stop a competitor trading under it. A registered trade mark gives you the right to take legal action against anyone using your brand without permission.

It costs far less than I expected. The official fee is £205 to apply online for one class of goods or services, plus £60 for each extra class. It lasts 10 years. That is around £20 a year to protect a name I have spent two decades building.

It is not quick, but it is not hard. You apply online. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) examines your application within two to three weeks, then publishes it for two months so anyone can object. If nobody does, you are registered about two weeks later. Three to four months in all.

Buy your domain names first. Your application is published on GOV.UK the moment you apply. The IPO itself warns that someone could use those details to buy the web domain for your brand name. With my IT hat on, that is the tip I would underline.

You cannot add to it later. Once the application is in, you cannot add more goods or services. Think about where the business will be in five years, not just today.

Hold off on the ®. You can only use it once the mark is registered. Jumping the gun is an offence. Use ™ until the certificate arrives.

The emails do not stop when you apply

Remember the emails that started all this? There is a sequel.

Once you apply, your business name, address and trade mark details are public. Official-looking invoices can then start to arrive, asking for payment for “registration” or “publication” services. The sender’s name is usually chosen to sound like an official body.

They are not from the IPO. Its advice is clear: do not pay, and report them to misleadinginvoices@ipo.gov.uk.

Tell whoever pays your bills before you apply. It is the same rule we give our clients for any unexpected invoice. Stop, check, and verify it using contact details you already trust.

Where AI helps, and where it does not

I am not suggesting you sack your solicitor.

AI is very good at explaining things and getting you started. It is not a qualified adviser, and it can be confidently wrong. So check what it tells you against the official source. For trade marks, that is the IPO’s guidance on GOV.UK.

Some jobs still need a professional. If your search turns up a similar name, if someone opposes your application, or if you trade overseas, pay for a trade mark attorney. That is money well spent.

One caution from the day job. Be careful what you paste into a free AI tool. Client details and confidential documents belong in a business-grade tool with proper data protection.

But here is what struck me. A lot of what we pay professionals for is not the difficult part. It is the explaining. And AI is very good at explaining.

This is not really about trade marks

It is about the pile of everyday jobs that business owners put off because they sound complicated or expensive.

Making sense of a contract before you sign it. Decoding a letter from HMRC. Drafting a policy. Working out what a regulation actually asks of you.

AI will not replace your solicitor or your accountant. But it makes you a far better informed client. And sometimes, as I found, it turns out you can do the job yourself.