95% of Trademark opponents have lawyers. 40% of applicants don't.

When a UK trademark opposition is filed, there is a significant gap in who has professional support and who does not.

We obtained official data from the UK Intellectual Property Office through Freedom of Information requests. The numbers reveal a pattern that affects thousands of UK businesses every year.

The representation gap

In 2023, 2,878 TM7 opposition notices were served on trademark applicants. Of those applicants, 59.4% had legal representation — a solicitor or trademark attorney acting on their behalf.

That means 40.6% did not. They received a formal legal challenge to their trademark application and had no professional adviser.

On the other side, among the opponents — the parties filing the opposition — 95.5% had legal representation.

This pattern is consistent across all three years of available data. In 2022, 36.6% of applicants were unrepresented. In 2021, it was 43.5%. Meanwhile, opponent representation has stayed above 94% throughout.

What this means in practice

Picture the typical scenario. A small business owner files a trademark application for their brand. A few months later, they receive a TM7 notice — a formal opposition from a larger company, filed through a trademark attorney.

The applicant has no lawyer. They may not know what a TM7 is. They may not understand their options. They have a deadline to respond and no clear guidance on what to do.

The opponent, meanwhile, has professional representation, a clear legal strategy, and experience with the process.

This imbalance shows up in the defence rates. In 2023, only 17.7% of applicants who received an opposition actually filed a TM8 defence. The rest either withdrew their application or did not respond at all.

Why most applicants do not defend

The low defence rate is not necessarily because every opposition is justified. It is more likely a combination of factors.

Cost is one. Instructing a trademark solicitor to handle an opposition defence typically costs £2,000 to £5,000 for a straightforward case. For a small business that spent £170 on the application itself, that is a significant step up.

Confusion is another. The opposition process has specific forms, deadlines, evidence requirements, and procedural rules. Without professional guidance, many applicants simply do not know what to do or whether their case is worth defending.

And inertia plays a role. If you do not understand the process and the deadline is approaching, doing nothing is the easiest option — even though it means losing your trademark.

The cost of inaction

When an applicant does not defend, the opposition typically succeeds by default. The application is refused or withdrawn. The business loses the trademark they applied for.

If they want to rebrand, research from Tidman Legal puts the cost at £65,000 to £275,000 for a growing SME — covering legal fees, brand redesign, marketing relaunch, and operational replacement of all branded materials.

If they want to try filing again with a different mark, they are back to square one, with no guarantee the new mark will not face the same problem.

Oppositions are increasing

The volume of oppositions has grown substantially. In the year ending June 2022, the IPO recorded 1,616 oppositions — more than double the 790 from the previous year. The total number of TM7s served reached 8,414 in 2022.

This growth tracks the broader increase in trademark filings. With 203,187 UK applications filed in 2025, up 17% on the previous year, the number of potential conflicts — and therefore oppositions — will continue to rise.

More filings means more overlapping marks. More overlapping marks means more oppositions. And more oppositions means more unrepresented business owners navigating a process they do not understand.

What can be done

The representation gap is not going to close on its own. Professional legal fees are what they are, and many SMEs will always struggle to justify the cost of a trademark attorney for what they see as a secondary concern.

What can change is the information gap. A business owner who understands the process, knows their options, and has clear data on likely outcomes is in a far better position — even without formal legal representation — than one operating completely in the dark.

That is what TMGuard is designed to provide. When a conflict appears, TMGuard delivers a plain-English risk assessment, intelligence from 9,300+ real IPO opposition decisions, Companies House data on the opposing party, and a clear timeline. When professional help is needed, TMGuard connects users with specialist solicitors who receive a detailed case packet.

TMGuard does not replace legal advice. But it ensures that no business owner faces a trademark conflict completely uninformed.

Check your brand for free in 60 seconds at tmguard.uk/check.