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The cost of trademark registration can vary depending on the type of application, whether or not you use an attorney and where you are applying. The process is long, but it could be worth your while to file a DIY application in some cases.
Trademark costs are a large part of the process. The “uspto” is a trademark service that offers DIY registration for $275. The online service from LegalZoom charges $299 and an attorney would charge around $2,000.
A federal trademark registration in the United States will most likely cost between $225 and $2,000. If you file your own trademark, it will cost you at least $225. The trademark will cost roughly $500 if you use an internet agency. The cost of registering a trademark with a trademark attorney is likely to be in the range of $1,500 to $2,000.
Check out Rocket Lawyer if you want to save money on a trademark attorney. Rocket Lawyer is an online service that can provide you with a trademark registration cost estimate in minutes. For $39.99 per month, you may receive unlimited access to application templates, document review, and attorney consultations if you want further legal assistance. For 7 days, you may try it for free.
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Aside from the technique you choose, the following are the primary elements that will influence the cost of a trademark:
- The number of trademarks that make up your “trademark”
- You aim to trademark in a certain number of classes, or business sectors.
- Intricacies in the trademark application procedure
We’ll go through each technique and element that might affect the cost of trademark registration in this tutorial.
Costs of Trademarks in Summary
The expenses and activities connected with each technique are summarized below:
We’ll go through each of these strategies and their associated costs in detail below.
Costs of USPTO Trademark Registration
You will have to pay USPTO fees regardless of the method you choose to register your trademark, so it’s a good idea to look through this first and understand the relevant aspects that may impact the cost of registering your trademark.
You should do a trademark search to see if there are any conflicts before filing. You may accomplish this utilizing the Trademark Electronic Search System, a free service provided by the USPTO (TESS).
Fees for Basic Services
Depending on the form you submit, the USPTO will charge you $225, $275, or $400. You may submit electronically using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or by mail.
The following is a list of USPTO TEAS filing expenses. USPTO is the source of this information.
TEAS Plus, the lowest option, necessitates electronic filing and includes extra application requirements such as goods/services listings, prepayment, and supplementary declarations. TEAS Reduced Fee is the midway option, which requires electronic filing but has less restrictions than TEAS Plus. TEAS Regular, the most costly option, has no extra requirements and allows for paper filing.
The USPTO trademark costs are for a “single trademark” and one “class.”
Identical Trademark
“Of course, I just want one trademark,” you could be thinking. When it comes to trademarks, though, the distinction is critical. Business names and associated logos are the most popular form of trademark sought by small firms. These are two distinct things, according to the USPTO. Only one of the following two kinds of drawings must be submitted:
- “A typical character drawing depicts a mark in text solely (no design), in any font style, size, or color.”
- “A mark with stylization, designs, graphics, logos, or color is shown in a specific form drawing.” These are sometimes known as “design markings” or “stylized marks.”
All text usage of your brand is protected by a conventional character drawing. As a result, the “Google” standard character trademark protects Google against infringement independent of font, color, context, or other factors. The use of the term “Google” in their company or product text is not protected by a particular form trademark of the well-known Google logo.
As a result, most firms will trademark both the word version and the graphic representation of their name. As a result, the cost of trademarks has increased.
solitary class
In the context of trademarks, a “Class” refers to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s list of 42 worldwide products and services categories (WIPO). Chemicals vs. Paint, for example. So, if Tesla wants to trademark its brand in both the vehicle and solar roofing supplier industries, it will have to submit two trademark applications. If you wish to use your trademark in various, possibly neighboring businesses, you’ll have to pay more for it. The whole list may be seen here.
Fees for resubmission
A $125 cost for a resubmission owing to an inaccurate or incomplete application is another price imposed by the USPTO for two of their three application forms. This is often highlighted as a possible cost-cutting benefit of hiring an expert trademark attorney. Below, we’ll go through ways to prevent making errors in more depth.
Submission to the Federal Government of the United States of America
A trademark application filed with the USPTO is only valid in the United States. So, if you wish to trademark in another country, you’ll have to go through an entirely other procedure, which will raise the cost of a trademark.
“A trademark is often a term, phrase, slogan, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies the source of your products and services and differentiates them from the goods and services of another party,” according to the trademark definition. That is, a trademark informs customers that the products or services they are purchasing are exclusively from you and not from anybody else.” Unlike a patent, which protects an innovation, a copyright protects original material. These would be a separate procedure from trademarks, with separate expenses. Click here to see our patent cost guide if you need to figure out how much a patent will cost you.
Costs of Other Trademarks
There are costs for continuous usage ($100 after 5 years) and renewal ($500 after 9 years) that are part of the long-term expense of holding a trademark. Any trademark enforcement would be an extra and independent expense of owning a trademark.
Costs of Trademarks for Online Legal Services
Using an online legal agency as a middle ground between registering a trademark yourself and hiring a lawyer is a good option. Try Rocket Lawyer or LegalZoom for an online option.
LegalZoom offers trademark registration packages. LegalZoom is the source for this information.
What You Will Receive
The costs for using an online legal service are in addition to any fees owed to the USPTO as part of the application procedure. The following are some of the benefits of using an online legal service:
- Will do a simple trademark search for you so that you don’t have to.
- Will complete the USPTO application for you, apparently because they have greater expertise and are less likely to make mistakes.
- Assistance with the digitalization of the drawing you must submit
- Please provide a digital version of your application.
- For an extra cost, provide additional, relevant legal forms.
The Benefits of Using an Online Legal Service
If you use an online legal service, you’ll save time on the trademark search, get a second pair of eyes on your application, and maybe get a discount on some of their other services and forms if you intend on utilizing them.
Why You Shouldn’t Use an Online Legal Service
For the following reasons, you may wish to avoid using an online legal service:
- Search. If a “extensive” search costs more, it suggests that the search they do isn’t thorough. You or an attorney may be able to perform a better job.
- Feedback. One of the most common causes for trademark registration denial is that the mark isn’t unique enough; this is something a competent lawyer can advise you on, but it’s not included in the online legal packages.
- Complications. Over half of trademark applications are refused, according to Upcounsel, a lawyer-finding website. If you think you’ll require a competent lawyer to deal with issues with your application, you may as well start there.
Fees for a “complete” trademark search on LegalZoom. LegalZoom is the source for this information.
For a more in-depth look at online legal services, go here. Take a look at this article.
The Cost of Hiring a Trademark Attorney
Using a trademark lawyer may cost anything from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars, with the average cost falling between between $1,500 and $2,000. So the most essential thing to grasp is what are the primary cost drivers, how to reduce the danger of the cost being on the high end, and what you receive for your money.
What You Get When You Hire a Trademark Attorney
Feedback on your trademark strategy, professional search, professional completion of the application, and assistance in handling any issues in the application procedure are all reasons you should hire an expert trademark lawyer.
Experienced Recommendations
Applications filed by a trademark lawyer were 50 percent more likely to be accepted than those produced by the company itself, according to a research at the University of North Carolina Law School. One of the primary reasons for this is that the trademark is not distinctive enough to distinguish a brand. A trademark lawyer can provide you real-world advice on your company name, logo, or other trademark based on their expertise to ensure it passes the USPTO on the first try.
Completion of the Application in a Professional Manner
The USPTO application is not straightforward, and it requires the submission of supporting evidence in order to be approved. To be approved and give maximum protection, the structure of your design must spell out the appropriate claims for color, typefaces, and application. You can’t be too broad or too specific in your statements. A trademark lawyer can assist in ensuring that all of the documents relating to the application is up to the job, having produced previous applications.
For the TEAS Plus form, an example of the USPTO Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual is needed. USPTO is the source of this information.
Assistance With Complications
In two ways, a trademark lawyer should be able to assist with application issues. First, a trademark attorney should be able to assist you avoid more issues in the first place than if you did it yourself by offering expert comments on the original approach, doing a more thorough search, and properly filling out the application and supporting papers.
Second, if a snag occurs and you get a refusal or Office Action, a lawyer will be better prepared to handle the situation. When there is an issue with your trademark application, an Office Action is sent out.
Expenses for a Trademark Attorney
In general, a trademark lawyer’s fees take one of two forms: a set charge with extra hourly fees or simply straight hourly rates. Hourly costs for a somewhat experienced lawyer should vary from $300 to $400 in both circumstances.
Costs plus a flat rate
Flat fee trademark legal services may cost anything from $500 to $1,000, including USPTO costs. Preventing future rework is clearly the most important cost control in this concept. That means you’ll have to put in more effort up front, such as ensuring your trademark is as unique as possible. Communication is the other driving force. The trademark attorney will strive to complete the procedure as swiftly as feasible. As a result, the more information you can provide them up front, the better. This may contain your trademark approach, such as what courses are acceptable or possible areas of dispute, as well as how to assist people accomplish a better job with a certain level of work.
Billable Hours in Straight Lines
The length of the trademark search and any issues will effect the straight billable hours, in addition to the drivers for the Flat+ model. The majority of law firms use legal search software, such as Compumark, which is more complex than the USPTO’s free search engine. So decide ahead of time how thorough you want the search to be. This includes determining if you need an international trademark, which may cost anything from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses.
Any Office Actions that may occur are another expense driver. These are difficult to forecast, but a lawyer typically spends 4 to 8 hours responding to an Office Action. At $400 per hour, each Office Action is expected to cost your trademark between $1,600 and $3,200.
Bottom Line: Do-It-Yourself Is Inexpensive But Complicated; Hiring an Attorney Is Expensive But Probably Worth It
Bottom line: registering a federal trademark in the United States costs between $225 and $2,000 on average. USPTO fees are expected to be roughly $275 per trademark per class. The USPTO costs will increase by roughly $500 if you use an online legal service, or by around $1,500 if you hire a trademark lawyer. Having a good trademark application, which means it’s not a descriptive name like Tasty Ketchup, not place oriented like Chicago Pizza, not generic like Shoelaces, and not comparable to existing marks like Bob’s Greyhound Bus Line, will help you save money regardless of which technique you employ.
Check out Rocket Lawyer if you need help with your trademark. It provides help with trademark registration, including skilled lawyers who will write and submit the appropriate papers with you. Get a pricing quotation in minutes online, or join the company’s membership club to save money on all legal services.
Go to Rocket Lawyer for more information.
Trademark costs are a big deal. You have the option of registering your trademark with an online service, hiring a lawyer to file for you, or doing it yourself. Let’s compare the options and see which is best for you. Reference: trademark lawyer near me.
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