Brand registration is the official document that legally proves a brand belongs to a company or individual. It is issued by intellectual property authorities and grants the owner exclusive rights to use that brand within a specific market segment.
Registering a brand is essential to protect your brand identity and prevent other companies from using the same name, logo, or similar symbols. In addition to providing legal security, registration also strengthens your brand’s credibility.
Where to search for a brand registration
You can search for brand registrations through a global website managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This platform gathers brand records from multiple countries, allowing users to verify whether a brand is already registered or in the process of registration.
On the website, you can search by brand name and refine the results by selecting the country of interest. This helps ensure a more accurate and targeted search, making it easier to access official information about the brand.
Step-by-step guide to Brand registration searching
1- Access WIPO website, in this link
2- Search for Brand name (1) and Designation country (2) and click on “Search” (3).
It is important to inform the country of operation when performing the search, as we need the Brand registration in that specific country to ensure that takedown requests are more efficient.
3- In the results list (as shown in the screenshot below), look for the brand registration with a status that is preferably Registered (4) and includes the Logo (5);
If there are multiple brand registrations with a Registered status, choose the most recent one. If none are Registered, a Pending status is acceptable.
However, those with an Ended status must be excluded as they are ineligible.
4- Click on the brand name to open the brand registration;
5- Open the brand registration and click “Download PDF” (6). This file can be uploaded to the platform later.
Tip: Always opt for 'Type of mark: (7) Combined'. Protecting the full visual identity ensures that legitimate and infringing content can be compared directly, streamlining the takedown process and minimizing challenges from third parties.
After finding and downloading the Brand registration, you are all set to fill out the information on the platform. To do this, follow the steps below.
It is necessary to identify the information highlighted below on the Brand registration page.
Where do I find this information on the brand registration page?
If your brand has multiple registrations, always prioritize registering the one with the combined type of mark. It is only necessary to register one record; this makes the takedown process with the responsible entities clearer.
In the Brand Registry field (4), you can upload the brand registration file that was downloaded previously.
If you are having trouble locating the Brand registration directly through WIPO, you can search directly through the official office of your brand's country of operation.
At this link, you will find a list of official offices for each country.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected] 😊