How to Renew a Trademark in Pakistan Before It Lapses

A registered trademark in Pakistan lasts ten years, and then it is due again. Miss the renewal window and the Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan can remove the mark from the register entirely, which means a brand name a business has used for a decade suddenly has no registered protection behind it.

We tried to read the renewal fee schedule directly on ipo.gov.pk on 5 October 2026 and the registry page returned a 404, so for the rule mechanics below we read the actual text of the Trade Marks Rules 2004 as hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation's own legislative repository, not a law firm's summary of it.

What renewal actually protects

Renewal keeps a trademark registration alive for another ten years under section 35 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 2001. Without it, the exclusive right to the name or logo in its registered class simply lapses.

A trademark is not a one-time filing. It is a right that has to be kept current, the same way a driving licence or a business permit needs renewing. A business that treats registration as a single event, done once and forgotten, is the business that loses the mark years later over a missed letter.

The Registrar sends a reminder before expiry

Rule 50 of the Trade Marks Rules 2004 requires the Registrar to send the registered owner a notice of the coming expiry, timed at any point from six months before expiry down to one month before it.

That reminder is a courtesy, not a guarantee. It goes to the address on file, and an owner who moved offices, changed a contact person, or filed through an agent who has since closed shop may never see it. The deadline does not move because the letter went missing.

File the renewal within six months of expiry

Rule 51 sets the normal renewal window at six months, ending on the actual expiry date of the registration. That is the period to file the renewal request on the prescribed form, with the fee, before the mark technically expires.

Filing early costs nothing extra and removes the risk entirely. There is no reason to wait for the reminder letter when the window is already open six months out.

Miss the deadline and there is still a grace period

If the fee has not been paid by the expiry date, Rule 52 does not kill the mark on the spot. IPO advertises the lapse in its official Journal first, and the owner then has a further six months from that advertisement to pay the renewal fee along with an additional late fee.

That grace period is a second chance, not a loophole to lean on. An additional fee applies, and nobody we read states that it is small. Paying on time within the original six month window avoids it completely.

A removed mark can be restored, but not forever

Once a mark is actually removed from the register for non-renewal, Rule 53 allows one more route back: a request for restoration, filed within six months of the date of removal, along with the renewal fee and a separate restoration fee.

1. Check the exact expiry date printed on the original registration certificate.
2. File the renewal request on IPO's prescribed form before that date.
3. Pay the renewal fee for the next ten year term.
4. If the date has passed, check the e-Journal for the removal advertisement and act within the grace period.
5. If the mark was already removed, file for restoration within six months of removal.

Beyond that final six month window, the Rules give no further route. The mark sits in the public domain, open for someone else to apply to register it, and a competitor doing exactly that is not a theoretical risk in a market where brand names get copied quickly.

What renewal costs, and why we can't give you a firm number here

Fee amounts for renewal, late renewal and restoration are reported in secondary legal commentary, but we could not load IPO's own fee schedule to confirm the exact rupee figures or the current form numbers, since two legal sources we checked do not even agree with each other on whether the renewal form is numbered TM-12 or TM-13.

Rather than print a number we have not verified at the source, we are telling you plainly: call or visit the Trade Marks Registry in Karachi, or check IPO's current fee notification, before you file. A wrong fee attached to a renewal request causes its own delay.

Keep the registration separate from everyday use

Renewal is a paperwork deadline. It runs independently of whether the mark is being used in the market, and IPO's renewal process does not ask for proof of use the way some countries' systems do.

That does not mean use is irrelevant. A trademark that has sat unused for years is weaker in a dispute even if the registration itself is current, because registration and the strength of a legal claim are two different things. Keep both in order, not just one.

Common questions

How long does a Pakistani trademark registration last?

Ten years from registration, and it can be renewed for further ten year terms indefinitely.

What happens if I miss the renewal deadline?

The mark is not removed immediately. IPO advertises the lapse in its Journal, and a six month grace period follows, during which renewal is still possible with an additional late fee.

Can a removed trademark be brought back?

Yes, through a restoration request filed within six months of the actual removal date, along with the renewal fee and a separate restoration fee.

Does the Registrar always send a reminder before expiry?

The Rules require a notice sent between six months and one month before expiry, but it depends on IPO having the owner's correct current address on file.

Is there a time limit on restoration?

Yes. Once six months have passed since removal, the Rules give no further route back for that registration.

Does renewal require proof that the trademark is still in use?

No. Renewal is a fee and form filing tied to the expiry date, separate from whether the mark is actively used in the market.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 5 October 2026. We attempted to read IPO-Pakistan's own trademark registry page and renewal fee schedule directly on ipo.gov.pk and received a 404 on the pages we tried. For the renewal mechanics, we read the text of Rules 50, 51, 52 and 53 of the Trade Marks Rules 2004 as hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation's legislative repository, which carries the actual rule wording rather than a summary of it. The ten year registration and renewal term is read from section 35 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 2001 as referenced inside that text. The specific rupee fees for renewal, late renewal and restoration, and the exact current form numbers, are reported in secondary legal sources that disagree with each other on form numbering, so we have not printed a figure here and tell readers to confirm both directly with IPO-Pakistan before filing. If choosing between protecting a name and protecting an invention, a new trademark application and a patent application are filed under separate laws with separate rules, and this renewal guide covers only the trademark side. Nothing here is legal advice.