Official fees in Pakistan are set out in a schedule to the Trade Marks Rules, and they are charged per form. Combined with the rule that an application may cover only one class, that produces a cost structure that behaves quite differently from a jurisdiction where one application can carry five classes.
This note explains the structure rather than listing amounts. The schedule is revised by notification from time to time, and the current figures are the ones the Trade Marks Registry publishes — those are the numbers to work from, not a figure quoted in an article.
Quick reference
| Where fees are set | The First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules, 2004, read with rule 4 |
| How they are charged | Per form, for each application or proceeding |
| Classes | One class per application, so fees multiply by class |
| Separate fee stages | Filing, registration, renewal — each its own charge |
| Contested matters | Opposition, counter-statement and notice of intention to attend a hearing each carry a fee |
| Late renewal | An additional fee on top of the renewal fee |
| Restoration | A restoration fee plus the renewal fee |
| Madrid designation | Pakistan charges an individual fee, set separately by WIPO notice |
The structure
Rule 4 requires a fee for an application or proceeding, and the First Schedule lists each fee against the form it belongs to. The practical consequence is that you can read the cost of a matter off the list of steps it will take.
Getting registered involves at least two charges: the application, and then the registration itself once the mark is accepted and unopposed. They are separate items, and the second falls due some time after the first — which is worth saying to a client who thinks the filing invoice was the whole of it.
Keeping the registration means a renewal fee every term, with an additional fee where renewal is late, and a restoration fee on top of the renewal fee where the mark has already been removed.
Contested matters carry fees at several points: the notice of opposition, the counter-statement in answer to it, and a notice of intention to attend a hearing — each party, each time. Applications for revocation, invalidation and rectification work the same way.
Transactions carry their own fees — recording an assignment or a licence, a change of name or address, an alteration of the mark, a divisional application, a search request.
What actually drives the total
Three things, in order of size.
The number of classes. This is the dominant factor and the one that is decided at the outset. Because every class is a separate application and a separate registration, each class carries its own filing fee, its own registration fee and its own renewal fee for as long as you hold it. Four classes is four of everything, for the life of the portfolio.
The planning consequence is that class selection in Pakistan deserves more thought than in a multi-class jurisdiction, where the marginal cost of an extra class is small. Here it is a permanent, recurring commitment. The right question is not “what could we conceivably sell?” but “what will we actually be able to show use of?” — because the classes you cannot support are also the ones exposed to revocation for non-use.
Whether the application is contested. An uncontested registration has a predictable set of charges. An objection answered with evidence, or an opposition that runs to a hearing, adds official fees at each step and the professional time behind them. Clearing the mark before filing is the cheapest intervention available — see trademark search in Pakistan.
Missed deadlines. Late renewal costs an additional fee. Restoration costs a restoration fee as well, and it is discretionary, so the money does not buy certainty. Extensions of time carry their own fee. Almost every avoidable charge in the schedule exists because something was not diarised.
Searching
A search request to the Registrar carries a fee, and so does a personal search of the records. Both are per class, so the cost of properly clearing a multi-class brand scales the same way the filing does.
It remains the least expensive money in the process. A search fee against the cost of abandoning a launched brand is not a close comparison.
Madrid designations
Pakistan joined the Madrid Protocol with effect from 24 May 2021 and declared that it wants to receive an individual fee when it is designated — in an international application, in a subsequent designation, and on renewal of an international registration designating Pakistan — rather than a share of the standard supplementary and complementary fees.
The amounts are published by WIPO and payable through the international application, so the comparison between the Madrid route and a direct national filing depends on the individual fee for the relevant number of classes alongside the national charges. See the Madrid Protocol and Pakistan.
On the firm’s own charges
Our fees are a separate conversation and depend on what the matter actually involves — the number of classes, whether the mark needs clearing first, and whether anyone is likely to contest it. We would rather quote on the real scope than publish a figure that fits nobody’s matter.
Frequently asked questions
How are Pakistani trademark fees calculated? Per form. The First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules sets a fee against each form, so the cost of a matter is the sum of the steps it takes — and each class is its own set of steps.
Does filing in more classes cost more in Pakistan? Yes, proportionally. An application covers one class only, so each additional class is a separate application with its own filing, registration and renewal fees.
Is there one fee to register a trademark in Pakistan? No. The application fee and the registration fee are separate charges falling due at different stages, and renewal is a further charge each term.
What does it cost to renew late? An additional fee on top of the renewal fee, within the further period allowed. Once the mark has been removed, restoration costs a restoration fee as well as the renewal fee, and restoration is at the Registrar’s discretion.
Where do I find the current official fees? From the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan. The schedule is revised by notification from time to time, so the published current schedule is the reliable source.
Does Pakistan charge an individual fee under Madrid? Yes. Pakistan declared under the Madrid Protocol that it takes an individual fee on designation, on subsequent designation and on renewal, instead of a share of the supplementary and complementary fees.
Useful official resources
- Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan — the current fee schedule and forms
- Trade Marks Rules, 2004 — rule 4 and the First Schedule
- WIPO Madrid System fee information — individual fees for designating Pakistan
See our related notes on trademark classes in Pakistan, filing a trademark in Pakistan and renewal and restoration.
Working out what a Pakistani filing programme will actually cost to run? Talk to us.