A note on the trade mark

Some readers may notice the small ™ next to the HOW wordmark, and the notation in the footer that reads "HOW™ is the subject of UK trade mark application UK00004373208."

The plain version: we have applied to register HOW as a UK trade mark for the categories of activity the label works in — music, objects, retail, publishing, live events, and the related goods and services. The application was filed in April 2026 and is currently being examined by the UK Intellectual Property Office.

The longer version — for people interested in the practical side of running a small label — follows.

Trade mark applications are public records. Once an application is filed, it goes through examination, where the IPO checks classification and identifies any earlier marks that could conflict. After examination it publishes in the trade marks journal, where any third party with a legitimate interest can file an opposition during a two-month window. If the application survives that window without opposition (or successfully defends an opposition), it proceeds to registration.

We are at the examination stage. The application has been classified across the seventeen categories that cover what HOW does and what HOW will do. This is more categories than a coffee brand or a consultancy might file, and that's because the label genuinely operates across categories — music, then objects, then writing, then events, with retail running alongside.

The intention behind filing is what every applicant declares on the application form: that the mark is in use, or there is a bona fide intention to use it, in relation to all the goods and services applied for. That declaration is exactly true here. Everything in the specification is part of the work the label is doing or about to do.

If you are interested in the underlying mechanics of how UK trade mark registration actually works for small operators like ourselves — we may write about that at some point. The system is more navigable than it might look from the outside.

For now: the ™ is a notice that the mark is claimed and pending. The ® will come later, on grant.

More soon.