UKIPO uses artificial intelligence tool to improve quality of trademark applications

UKIPO uses artificial intelligence tool to improve quality of trademark applications

Since the launch of the trademark pre-application service at the UKIPO, the average number of trademark applications rejected due to inappropriate Nice Classification terms has fallen by 14%. Pre-application is the first AI service released by the UKIPO for public use. AI tools can be used to identify similar trademarks that already exist and present them to customers, which greatly increases the probability of trademark applicants successfully registering their trademarks. In addition, using the pre-application service can help customers determine the correct category of goods and services for their proposed trademark, which means that trademark registration applications are more likely to be successful.

Since the launch of the AI service, the length of the UKIPO's goods and services list has been reduced by 70%. This means that consumers will have more appropriate trademarks and are more likely to protect only the correct goods and services, making them less likely to be opposed, thus greatly saving time and money for trademark registration applicants.

The AI service features an improved customer interface and Nice Classification selector, as well as simpler and more relevant listings of goods and services. These improvements mean:

• The UKIPO will examine trade marks more quickly – examiners will no longer have to search through long lists of goods and services, and it will be easier to search and compare.
• Higher quality of trademark registrations and fewer rejections due to selection of inappropriate Nice Classification terms greatly saves clients’ time and money.

The service has proved so popular that it has been used more than 15,000 times in the past three months alone. This equates to around two-thirds of all applications filed by clients without lawyers.

The AI smart service used by UKIPO has the following functions:

• Using artificial intelligence for relative and absolute foundation checking
• Provide guidance on choosing the correct classification of goods and services
• Introduced an improved Nice Classification selector with a list of pre-approved terms
• Provide a specific cost budget

At the same time, UKIPO said that it will further integrate artificial intelligence into future services as part of the One IPO transformation plan, and the functions of future artificial intelligence will also include:

• Improving automatic text search using natural language processing
• Automated help and guidance, such as pre-filing services for all rights and robots that can suggest classifications for goods and services
• Advanced verification and authentication capabilities across customer accounts and trademark registration processes

UKIPO stated that the AI tool released this time was designed around user needs. At the same time, it also called on more users to participate in its transformation research to help UKIPO's One IPO transformation plan succeed.