This article includes a more detailed look at the trademark process, as well as explaining some of the potential additional fees that can occur throughout the process.
Additional Classes
Our trademark filing service includes the government filing fee for one class of goods/services.
Additional USPTO and processing fees of $250 will apply if your trademark covers goods/services in multiple classes (for example, jewelry and clothing). This includes the $250 per class filing fee and a $50 per class attorney fee.
Office Actions
A government attorney will review your application about 4 months after filing to determine whether federal law permits registration. This occasionally results in the issuance of an "Office Action" identifying issues that need to be addressed before the application can be approved. There is no charge to address procedural issues like amendments to descriptions of goods/services and the entry of disclaimers.
In the unlikely event that your application receives a substantive refusal such as a likelihood of confusion rejection, then there will be an opportunity to respond to the refusal. If you decide to proceed, then our attorneys charge a flat fee of $850 to prepare and file the response.
(Please note that every effort is made to minimize the risk of a likelihood of confusion refusal by searching for potential conflicts prior to filing the application.)
Statement of Use
Assuming your application is approved, then a registration certificate will issue about 8 months after filing if the application is based on “actual use” (i.e., you were selling the applied-for goods/services at the time the application was filed). If your application is based on an “intent to use” the trademark, then the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will issue a Notice of Allowance instead of a registration. This means that all steps of the application process will have been completed except for proving that the trademark has been used in commerce.
To prove use, a document must be filed with the USPTO called a “Statement of Use” within 6 months of receiving the Notice of Allowance. If the trademark is not used within 6 months, then an extension of time can be requested.
Our attorneys charge a flat fee of $375 to prepare and file the Statement of Use. The government charges an additional $100 per class. This payment is due after the application is approved. Similar fees can also incur for the filing of Amendment to Allege Use and 6-Month Extension of Time to File Statement of Use.