UK visual trade marks
When applying for a visual trade mark in the UK only a JPEG or JFIF format will be accepted – this change came into effect on Thursday 23rd February 2023.
The UK IPO is making the change to protect the quality of uploaded images. Not complying could result in the files being treated as not being delivered to the office.
The UK IPO said: “When a trade mark image is uploaded, our systems automatically convert the image to a JPEG. During this process, if a high resolution GIF or PNG has been used, they can lose some quality and can become slightly blurred or pixilated around the edges. Accepting JPEG only will ensure that we retain the quality of the image uploaded.
“Our transformation project is reviewing how we capture images and are looking at alternative systems to potentially allow other image types to be uploaded in the future.”
The direction, published by the UK IPO, includes the following guidance.
- Visual representations (including colour only or pattern) - must be in a single JPG or JFIF format file not exceeding 4 MB in size
- Sound recordings - must be in a single MP3 format file not exceeding 2 MB in size, or in a single JPG or JFIF format file not exceeding 4 MB in size
- Motion or holograms - must be in a single MP4 format file not exceeding 20 MB in size, or in a single JPG or JFIF format file not exceeding 4 MB in size
- Multimedia recordings - must be in a single MP4 format file not exceeding 20 MB in size
- 3D representations - must be in a single OBJ, STL, X3D format file not exceeding 20 MB in size, or up to six JPG or JFIF format files not exceeding 4 MB in size combined
Click here to read the full ‘e-directions’ and guidelines documents