Trademark registration serves as a vital bulwark against infringement and imitation. It’s not just a procedural formality; it’s a crucial investment in your brand’s future. Understanding the financial aspects of trademark registration, including legal fees, government costs and the factors influencing them, is critical to making informed decisions about protecting your intellectual property. First of all, unless you are filing it yourself on uspto.gov, you will be paying both “fees” and “costs.”
The Cost of Trademark Registration and Navigating Legal Fees and Influencing Factors
Trademark registration serves as a vital bulwark against infringement and imitation.
Catherine Cavella, ESQ.
Trademark registration serves as a vital bulwark against infringement and imitation. It’s not just a procedural formality; it’s a crucial investment in your brand’s future. Understanding the financial aspects of trademark registration, including legal fees, government costs, and the factors influencing them, is critical to making informed decisions about protecting your intellectual property.
First of all, unless you are filing it yourself on uspto.gov, you will be paying both “fees” and “costs.” Government filing costs for trademark applications filed online start at $250 per class. Whatever service or law firm you use, they will charge a service or legal fee. The total cost to you is the service or legal fee plus the government costs.
Trademark registration fees can vary significantly and be influenced by multiple factors. A significant factor is whether you are doing it yourself at the USPTO (no service or legal fee, just USPTO costs), using an online “do it yourself service,” or using a trademark attorney. Even among trademark law firms, fees vary widely. Some “trademark mill” law firms have minimal to no attorney involvement in the work so they can charge a lower fee. Others put a great deal of legal analysis and strategy and make sure to spend enough time meeting with the client (you) so they can fully explore what you need and make sure your trademark registration strategy is likely to deliver what you want. In general, the more trademark attorney time is spent on your application, the higher the fee will be, even when the fee is fixed.
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When comparing fixed fees, you also want to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Some firms and online services charge a separate fee for every class of goods, and some don’t. Think of it like buying a airplane ticket – some airlines advertise a low base price but by the time you add on all the items you want (baggage, leg room, early boarding), what you pay ends up as high, or higher, than the airline that seemed more expensive at first. Ask them how much for an application with one class vs. an application with 5 classes. Is their fee the same? Do they show you the expected USPTO costs, or do they hide them?
The overall cost to obtain a U.S. registered trademark also depends on the mark itself. Applying for a trademark is not like applying for a passport, where you simply check all the boxes, provide the proper documentation and then if you filled everything out correctly you get your passport. It is important to recognize that correctly filled out trademark applications are rejected all the time. Rejection is part of the process, which is designed to make sure that trademarks are not granted if they would interfere too much with free speech and fair competition.
After you file your application, it is assigned to a Trademark Examiner who will try to find reasons not to register your trademark. They issue refusals (called “Office Actions”) and expect you to argue in support of your application. If you don’t, your application is abandoned. So it’s important to budget for the part of the process that comes after filing.
If you did trademark clearance with an attorney, then you should know what is expected so you can budget for it. If you didn’t do trademark clearance with an attorney, you may be surprised that there’s more to do after filing – and you might also find you chose a trademark that cannot be registered no matter how much you spend.
“We have used IP Works for multiple projects in several business and referred them to other businesses. They’ve helped us navigate the tricky world of intellectual property and were always ready with a clear, understandable explanation when we had questions.
Highly recommend them to anyone that has intellectual property they want protected. From logos, slogans, company names and what ever else you may have.”
Because application filing is only the beginning of the trademark registration process, be sure to find out whether the fee you are quoted is for the whole process or just for filing. Even if it is for the whole process, does it including responding to Office Actions? Does it include extensions of time? Does it include oppositions? How do they handle those situations? Can they give you a suggested budget to plan for?
If your mark is very descriptive or too close to someone else’s, budget for additional legal fees needed to get it registered, and prepare yourself for failing. Not everything you might want to register is available for registration. A good clearance analysis from an experienced trademark attorney can identify potential problems before you file your application and might save you thousands of dollars and a year of frustration by suggesting you choose a different trademark.
International registrations, such as those filed through the Madrid System, also introduce additional complexities and fees, further contributing to the cost variability.
When considering trademark registration, it’s essential to think strategically about the scope of protection. Some brand owners opt for single-country registrations, while others use international mechanisms like the Madrid System to secure rights in multiple jurisdictions. Although international registrations can incur additional costs, they offer a broader level of protection if you have sales overseas, contributing to a brand’s global footprint and reducing the risk of future infringement.
Ultimately, while the cost of trademark registration may seem overwhelming, consider it a strategic investment in your brand’s future rather than a mere expenditure is essential. Once you register your mark, maintaining the registration is relatively inexpensive. And registration saves you thousands of dollars in legal fees when you need to enforce your mark, one the many ways you will see a return on your investment.
By understanding the range of legal fees involved and the myriad factors that influence costs, brand owners can effectively make informed decisions to protect their intellectual property assets. Engaging experienced trademark attorneys, conducting thorough trademark searches, and strategically planning the scope of protection are critical steps in successfully navigating the trademark registration process.
In doing so, brand owners can secure their trademarks’ legal protection, and the invaluable peace of mind of knowing their brand’s integrity and longevity are safeguarded for years to come.
Catherine Cavella
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