The sequence: filing → examination (the Registry may raise objections) → advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal → a four-month window in which anyone may oppose → registration. Each stage that draws a response adds months.
What speeds it up
- A clearance search before filing, so you do not collide with an existing mark.
- A precise goods/services description that gives the examiner nothing vague to object to.
- Prompt, well-drafted replies to any examination report.
Two useful facts: you can use the ™ symbol from day one of filing, and once granted, the registration runs ten years from the application date — then renews indefinitely, ten years at a time.