200 years of trademark data

The oldest trademark record in our database is from 6 March 1823. It is a US filing, serial number 70165419, a figurative mark. It was registered decades before the US formally established its trademark registration system in 1870.

The newest record was filed today.

Between those two dates sit 21 million trademarks spanning 200 years of commercial history across three countries. Every one of them is searchable on TMGuard in under 10 seconds.

The UK's first registered trademark

On 1 January 1876, the Bass Brewery of Burton-upon-Trent became the first company to register a trademark in the United Kingdom. Registration number UK00000000002. The mark: a red triangle.

It is in our database.

The Bass red triangle is one of the most referenced trademarks in IP law. It appears in trademark textbooks, law school lectures, and courtroom arguments around the world. Edouard Manet painted it into his 1882 masterpiece "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere." It has been in continuous use for 150 years.

The fact that it sits in our database alongside a trademark application filed this morning tells you something about the depth of data that modern trademark monitoring requires. History matters. A mark registered in 1876 can still be the basis for an opposition in 2026.

EUIPO's first day

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (then called OHIM) opened for Community Trade Mark applications on 1 April 1996. Among the first marks filed that day: WORLD REPORTER, EXTELSAT, and FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS WEEKLY.

Our EU dataset begins on that date and covers 99.4% of the full EUIPO register, including 446,888 international designations filed through the Madrid Protocol.

Thirty years of EU trademark filings. 3,137,850 marks. All searchable alongside the UK and US registers.

Before the system existed

The US trademark records in our database go back further than the formal registration system. The Trademark Act of 1870 was the first federal trademark legislation in the United States, but commercial marks were in use long before that. The earliest records in our database, from the 1820s, were likely added to the USPTO register retroactively when the modern system was established.

These historical marks still matter. They establish precedent. They appear in opposition proceedings. And they form part of the data that any serious trademark search must cover.

Why historical data matters for your brand

When you search for a trademark, you are not just checking against marks filed last week. You are checking against every mark that has ever been registered, in any status, across three jurisdictions.

A mark that was registered in 1985 and is still active can block your application in 2026. A mark that was cancelled in 2010 may still appear in search results and create confusion for consumers. An expired mark from the 1990s might be revived by its original owner if they can prove continuous use.

The depth of the data matters as much as the breadth. TMGuard holds both.

21 million marks, 200 years, 10 seconds

You can search the complete dataset for free at tmguard.uk/check. Enter your brand name and see every conflict across UK, EU, and US registers in seconds.

200 years of trademark history. One search bar.