Philip Morris – South African trademarks
Updated 8 November 2026
Philip Morris International is a global tobacco company. Its products include Marlboro cigarettes and IQOS heated-tobacco devices.
How Philip Morris has built and protected its brands in South Africa – its trademark portfolio, where it expanded, how quickly its marks are registered, and who it competes with.
Download report (PDF)Philip Morris trademarks in 45 seconds
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/philip-morris-south-african-trademarks/overview-video.html
A portfolio built over time
Philip Morris filed its first South African trademark in 1917 and has filed 1,121 since; its busiest year was 2017, with 112 new filings. The chart shows its filings per year from 1970.
Trademarks by filing year, up to 2024; applications still pending are not included.
The names behind the portfolio
Over the years the group has filed under several names – earlier company names, holding companies and subsidiaries. We count them together.
| Name | Marks | Filing years |
|---|---|---|
| Philip Morris | 710 | 1930–2025 |
| Philip Morris Brands | 347 | 1917–2024 |
| Philip Morris Brands Sarl A | 102 | 2013–2018 |
| Philip Morris Global Brands | 13 | 1982–1999 |
| Philip Morris Belgium | 2 | 1967–1967 |
| Philip Morris International Finance | 2 | 1999–1999 |
Where Philip Morris expanded its business
Trademark classes show what a business sells. Philip Morris' portfolio is concentrated in tobacco (class 34), electronics & software (class 9), lighting & appliances (class 11). Its most recent moves were into medical & beauty care (2019), construction & repair (2018), legal & security (2017).
Philip Morris trademarks: expansion into trademark classes, 1970–2025
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/philip-morris-south-african-trademarks/class-expansion-video.html
Each tile is a class; it lights up when the group first files in it and darkens with more filings; the dots show how many of its closest rivals also file in that class. The chart compares the number of classes used with its rivals. The video runs from 1970; classes entered earlier are lit from the start.
| Class | Marks | Share | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 Tobacco | 810 | 72.3% | 1917 |
| 9 Electronics & software | 66 | 5.9% | 1986 |
| 11 Lighting & appliances | 46 | 4.1% | 2010 |
| 41 Education & entertainment | 27 | 2.4% | 1981 |
| 35 Advertising & retail | 26 | 2.3% | 2004 |
| 18 Leather & bags | 18 | 1.6% | 1982 |
| 16 Paper & print | 17 | 1.5% | 1981 |
| 25 Clothing | 16 | 1.4% | 1979 |
The brands Philip Morris protects most
The word marks and logo names Philip Morris has filed most often – the same brand filed in more classes, in more versions or again over the years.
| # | Brand | Trademarks | Classes | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHESTERFIELD | 30 | 16 | 1968–2017 |
| 2 | IQOS | 27 | 13 | 2014–2020 |
| 3 | MARLBORO | 21 | 7 | 1963–2015 |
| 4 | MARLBORO VENI VIDI VICI | 14 | 14 | 1981–1981 |
| 5 | IQOS HOME | 12 | 12 | 2019–2019 |
| 6 | PETER JACKSON | 11 | 7 | 1951–1967 |
| 7 | RED RACING | 9 | 9 | 2004–2004 |
| 8 | ANYTHING BUTTS | 8 | 8 | 2017–2017 |
| 9 | MSCAPE | 8 | 8 | 2006–2006 |
| 10 | TETRAPOD | 8 | 8 | 2017–2017 |
| 11 | MARLBORO MUSIC | 8 | 5 | 1991–1994 |
| 12 | MISSION WINNOW | 8 | 4 | 2018–2018 |
| 13 | L&M | 7 | 1 | 1955–2015 |
| 14 | MURATTI | 7 | 1 | 1963–2011 |
| 15 | PHILIP MORRIS | 7 | 1 | 1938–2015 |
Logos filed most often (since 2020)
Philip Morris' logos
The 40 different logos Philip Morris has had published since 2020 – each logo shown once, however many classes or versions it was filed in. Logos protected in more classes come first.
How quickly its trademarks are registered
Over the last five years, Philip Morris' marks took a median of 3.7 years from filing to registration, slower than the market's 2.7 years. Most of that time is examination: 3.0 years from filing to acceptance (market: 1.9). Registration itself follows about half a year after acceptance. In 2026 the median jumped to 5.8 years: older applications – many filed years earlier – were finally accepted and registered, as the registry worked through its examination backlog.
Median years from filing to registration per registration year, split into examination (filing → acceptance) and acceptance → registration; the dashed line is the market median. A high recent value means older applications came through that year.
Who files the most in Philip Morris' classes
Ranked by number of trademarks filed in Philip Morris' main classes – any company that files there, whatever else it does (including retailers' own brands). This shows Philip Morris' market position, not who is most like it.
In the last five years, Philip Morris was #1 of 336 filers in class 34 (tobacco), with 187 of 961 trademarks; #1209 of 4,926 filers in class 9 (electronics & software), with 2 of 10,252 trademarks.
Philip Morris' share of all trademarks filed in each of its main classes, per filing year.
Top trademark filers in class 34 (tobacco), South Africa 1975–2024: Philip Morris
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/philip-morris-south-african-trademarks/class-34-race-video.html
Main competitors – the companies most like Philip Morris
Ranked by how similar their whole trademark portfolio is to Philip Morris' – the same mix of classes and the same words in their marks – not by size. Large filers in its classes that do something different rank lower here.
Philip Morris' closest competitors in South Africa are BAT, Nicopure Labs, JTI and Open Horizon.
Philip Morris trademarks vs competitors: filings per year, 2010–2024
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/philip-morris-south-african-trademarks/competitors-video.html
Trademark filings per year: Philip Morris (orange) and its five closest competitors.
| # | Company | Relationship | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BAT | Direct competitor | 100% |
| 2 | Nicopure Labs | Direct competitor | 78% |
| 3 | JTI | Direct competitor | 78% |
| 4 | Open Horizon | Direct competitor | 75% |
| 5 | Kt and G | Direct competitor | 73% |
| 6 | China Tobacco Hunan Industrial | Direct competitor | 71% |
| 7 | Outdoor Investments | Retailer's own brands | 64% |
| 8 | Unitrade Management Services | Retailer's own brands | 49% |
| 9 | Tweed | Other field | 70% |
| 10 | Stellenbosch University | Other field | 36% |
Similarity of trademark activity since 2015 (classes and words used in marks). Retailers appear where their own brands compete on the shelf.
Philip Morris – relevant export countries
South Africa exported US$4.6 billion of the goods Philip Morris' main classes cover in the last year – tobacco; snus; cigarettes; lighters (class 34); batteries; battery chargers; devices; usb chargers (class 9); heating; vaporizers; liquid; filters (class 11); backpacks; bags; umbrellas; wallets (class 18); books; calendars; brochures; magazines (class 16). Combining where these goods are exported, imported, growing and made (and copied), and what protection costs, these are the markets where Philip Morris' trademarks matter most.
Adjust the weightings
These weightings decide how the countries below are ranked. Change any value and the others adjust to keep the total at 100%.
Worldwide
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 5 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | European Union | 83 | US$1.1 billion | -1% | National | US$2,388 |
| 2 | United States of America | 72 | US$231 m | +2% | National | US$3,425 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 67 | US$78 m | -3% | National | US$1,371 |
| 4 | Türkiye | 66 | US$269 m | +10% | National | US$1,258 |
| 5 | India | 64 | US$26 m | +9% | National | US$1,295 |
| 6 | Canada | 61 | US$36 m | -4% | National | US$2,192 |
| 7 | Hong Kong SAR | 61 | US$21 m | -0% | National | US$1,715 |
| 8 | Japan | 61 | US$7.2 m | -4% | National | US$1,774 |
| 9 | Australia | 60 | US$63 m | +0% | National | US$2,380 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 58 | US$6.6 m | -3% | National | US$1,660 |
Africa
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 5 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namibia | 55 | US$362 m | +14% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 2 | Nigeria | 55 | US$46 m | -9% | National | US$1,015 S&Z |
| 3 | Botswana | 54 | US$359 m | -4% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 4 | Tanzania | 53 | US$50 m | +8% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 5 | Mozambique | 53 | US$192 m | +3% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
| 6 | Lesotho | 53 | US$118 m | +2% | National | US$326 |
| 7 | OAPI (17 states) | 53 | US$85 m | +7% | National | US$1,563 S&Z |
| 8 | Egypt | 51 | US$5.9 m | -1% | National | US$2,278 |
| 9 | Eswatini | 51 | US$126 m | -1% | National | US$446 |
| 10 | Uganda | 50 | US$13 m | +16% | ARIPO | US$450 S&Z |
SA exports = South Africa's exports of these goods to the market in the last year. Ranked with the default weightings. Score 0–100 from South Africa's exports of the goods to the market, net imports, import growth, foreign trademark filings, where the goods are made, market size and the cost of protection. Costs are total fees (official and professional) to file in 5 classes; ARIPO costs are per country, plus US$301 once per ARIPO application; S&Z = S&Z's own all-in price. Goods are taken from the classes and specifications, so the ranking is indicative.
Trade data: CEPII BACI (version 202601, trade flows 2022–2024), Licence Etalab 2.0; aggregated and combined with other data by S&Z.
Protecting its top brands in Nigeria and OAPI with S&Z
| Brand | Classes | Nigeria | OAPI (17 states) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHESTERFIELD | 16 | US$3,248 | US$3,595 |
| IQOS | 13 | US$2,639 | US$3,041 |
| MARLBORO | 7 | US$1,421 | US$1,932 |
| MARLBORO VENI VIDI VICI | 14 | US$2,842 | US$3,225 |
| IQOS HOME | 12 | US$2,436 | US$2,856 |
S&Z all-in prices per brand in its number of classes, filing to registration.
TM Country Selection Rank the countries for your own goods and get the quotes.
Word marks you may have considered opposing
For Philip Morris' five most-filed brands: word marks of other companies (not Philip Morris' own group) that our similar word mark search, SimTM, found in the brand's own classes, and that we consider confusingly similar – from the earliest match found to today.
Similar to CHESTERFIELD (classes 9, 34, 41; searched 2021-05-26 to 2026-11-07)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to IQOS (classes 9, 11, 34, 35, 41; no close matches in the search)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found.
Similar to MARLBORO (classes 9, 12, 18, 21, 24, 28, 34; no close matches in the search)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found.
Similar to MARLBORO VENI VIDI VICI (class 41; no close matches in the search)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found.
Similar to IQOS HOME (classes 9, 34, 35; searched 2018-01-31 to 2026-11-07)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similarity of the words only. Whether a mark could have been opposed depends on the goods and services, the reputation of the brand and the facts – S&Z can advise. New marks like these are what SimTM watch reports as they are published.
How S&Z can help you
S&Z does not just file trademarks. We are a technology-first firm that manages trademarks – analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected.
We manage your trademarks – not just file them
Analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected:
Filing and renewal at fixed, all-inclusive prices
S&Z prices – South African trademarks
| Filing, first class – incl. official fee, examination report, routine office action, acceptance, publication, registration and e-certificate | US$240 |
| Each additional class of the same mark, filed at the same time | US$225 |
| Renewal online, per class (every 10 years from filing) | R1,027 ≈ US$62.29 |
Renewal in rand; US$ at R16.49 per US$.
Philip Morris' next five years of renewals
454 of Philip Morris' registered marks reach their ten-year renewal date in 2027–2031. Renewed online with S&Z, that costs about US$28,279 over the five years.
Philip Morris: frequently asked questions
What should Philip Morris consider for its trademarks?
- Where to file next: its goods sell strongly in Namibia, Nigeria and Botswana – markets where South African exports of the same goods are large or growing, and where S&Z files at its own all-in prices (see “Philip Morris – relevant export countries”).
- Possible gaps: its competitors also protect class 40 (processing materials) – worth checking against what the business sells or plans to sell.
- Renewals and use: keep track of the ten-year renewal dates and of marks that are no longer used – unused marks can be challenged after five years, and some may no longer be worth renewing.