Questions
The questions to ask before you trust a result.
Plain answers about what a result means, what Notum covers today, and what it leaves to you and a trade mark attorney.
What a result means
Is a result legal advice?
No. A result shows which marks on the register are close to your name and why. It is a risk screening, not legal advice, and it cannot say whether a mark will be accepted. For the name you decide to file, speak to a qualified trade mark attorney.
Does a clear result mean I can use the name?
No. A clear result means nothing close turned up in the records Notum read. That is a good sign for those records and no more. Notum reads only part of the register today, the register changes, and a person can have rights in a name without having registered it. Before you file or use a name, check the register and take advice.
What do open water, crowded and collision course mean?
They are the three readings a check ends on. Open water: only distant matches turned up in what was read. Crowded: there are marks with real overlap, so read the reasons and decide, or take advice. Collision course: a mark very close to yours, so take advice before you file or spend on the name. Each comes with three reasons and a next step.
How does Notum decide that two names are alike?
On three grounds: sound, look and meaning. Sound is how the names are said. Look is how they are written: the letters, their order, the length. Meaning is whether they stand for the same idea in different words. Every score comes with its reasons, so you can see why a mark is close.
How accurate is it?
Notum’s scoring is checked against decisions a tribunal has already made. A figure has to pass a gate before this site quotes it, and the gate has not yet been passed, so this site quotes no figure.
What Notum covers
Does Notum cover the whole UK register?
No. Today a search reads UK marks filed up to 28 January 2018 and those published in the Trade Marks Journal since 19 September 2025. Marks published between February 2018 and September 2025 are not yet included, and many of them are live registrations. They are being added, and that is one reason Notum is in early access. Every result says which records it read and their dates. Until the years between are in, check the UK Intellectual Property Office register before you file or use a name.
Which register does Notum search?
The UK trade marks register, kept by the UK Intellectual Property Office.
What about EU marks?
Not covered. Notum reads UK records only, so a mark registered with the EU’s trade mark office, or under the international system, does not appear in a result. If you sell outside the UK, ask a trade mark attorney about those registers.
How current are the results?
Every result states the register it covered and the date. Read that line first: it is what the rest of the result rests on.
What is a class, and do I need to know mine?
Trade marks are registered for classes of goods and services, 45 in all. The same word can be free in one class and taken in another. You do not need to know yours: give Notum your SIC code from Companies House, or a short description of your business, and it suggests classes. The suggestions are a starting point, not advice.
Does a company name at Companies House protect my brand?
No. Registering a company name does not register a trade mark. They are separate registrations.
What Notum does, and does not do
Does Notum file a trade mark for me?
No. Notum prepares a filing pack: your classes, a place to write the goods and services for each class, a note on whether spacing or hyphenation variants could be filed as a series, and the UK Intellectual Property Office’s fee. You then file the application yourself on the UK IPO’s service on GOV.UK, and pay the fee there. Notum does not collect it.
Does Notum oppose a mark for me?
No. The watch tells you when a close new application is published, with the date its opposition window closes. For an application inside its window, Notum prepares the details for a notice of threatened opposition, and you file it yourself. Whether to oppose is for you and a trade mark attorney.
Do I need a trade mark attorney?
For the name you decide to file, we recommend one. Notum does the first look across the register, so that an attorney’s time goes on judgement and not on legwork.
Access and your details
How do I get access?
Early access is by invitation. Tell us what you are naming and we will be in touch.
What does it cost?
Nothing is charged during early access. The prices at launch, and what each plan includes, are on the pricing page.
What do you do with the details I send?
We use them to reply about early access, and for nothing else. The privacy notice sets out the rest.
Still unsure? Tell us what you are naming.
Early access is by invitation. Tell us the name you are weighing up and we will be in touch.