Can you register a trademark for free?

Unfortunately due to current conventions there is no way to register a trademark without paying for the necessary forms. As trademark registration itself is an official process requiring the service to be provided by an Intellectual Property Office, which is an official national/ governmental body of the country of registration, the work provided will have to be paid for. Certain Intellectual Property Offices offer reimbursments in the form of a business fund if certain requirements are met which can lead to decreased in costs paid (or refunded).

A form where it might be possible to gain legal rights without paying for the costs associated with trademark registration would be by gaining a common law trademark through the prolonged use of a brand. This is usually a very arduous process as the lenght, recognition, market share of the brand will be thouroghly investigated by the Intellectual Property Office.