A trademark is any distinctive name, brand, logo, slogan, or similar designation that identifies your product or service. In some cases, you can even register distinctive sounds or smells!

A trademark registration is a formal acknowledgement by the government that your name, brand, logo, motto, etc., is uniquely yours and entitled to legal protection.

For you: to secure the value of your brand and prevent others from selling knock-offs or using confusingly similar trademarks on their own products or services.

For customers: to be sure that they’re buying quality, authentic products or services from the real, official source.

Prevention: registering your trademark creates a public record of your mark that will show up in searches if someone in the future tries to use it or something confusingly similar.

Enforcement: if you end up having to sue somebody over infringement, having a registration lets you skip a lot of cumbersome steps involving proving that your mark is eligible for protection.

Takedowns: if you find someone using your mark or posing as you online, having a registered trademark simplifies the takedown demand process on most social media and e-commerce platforms.

URLs: once you have a trademark registration, you’ll have a much easier time liberating domain names from squatters.

The short version: you and I have a chat, I give you a tiny little bit of homework, and then I handle the rest for you.

For the long version, scroll on down to learn about the process in detail.

You can apply for a trademark registration anytime after you’ve started using the mark on your product or service. It’s also possible to “reserve” a mark for ~6 months before you start using it.

The application process usually takes 3-6 months, most of which is spent waiting on the USPTO. The last couple of years, it’s been even slower than that, so the best time to start is today.

I do.

And unlike other trademark application services, when you go through me, every step of the process is handled by an experienced trademark attorney. No automation, no outsourcing, no gimmicks.

Trademark registration happens at the federal level, meaning that your protection extends throughout the United States and its territories.

If you later decide you’d like to expand your trademark protection internationally, having an active registration in the US makes that process much easier.

USPTO filing fees vary depending on what you’re using your mark for. In most cases, you can expect applying for trademark with my help to run you around $1700, total.

For more detail, scroll on down to learn about the process.

Before we can apply for registration, I have to know what we’re registering. The first order of business is picking a brand name and, if appropriate, designing a logo.

If your project doesn’t have a name yet, I’ll work with you to pick one that’s unlikely to have conflicts with existing registered marks. If you’ve got a brand name you’re already using, I’ll help you assess the likelihood of success with that name and counsel you on whether or not it’s worth proceeding with an application.

We’ll also talk through which “classes” you’ll want to apply for, which will determine exactly what the application will cost. In most cases, your filing fee will be in the neighborhood of $700 per mark.

Once you’re ready to move forward, I’ll give you a little worksheet to fill out with all the relevant information, then I'll prepare your application. You do a final once-over to make sure everything looks good to you, and then I’ll file your application.

After the application is filed, the US Patent and Trademark Office will assign the application to a “Trademark Examiner.” A Trademark Examiner is a USPTO lawyer whose main job is to make sure that there’s not a compelling reason to deny the application. This process usually takes the USPTO 3-6 months, though it can be longer.

During this part of the process, neither you nor I have anything to do.

During the examination process, the Examiner may issue an "Office Action" to which we'll need to respond. Office actions can be "substantive" or "non-substantive."

A non-substantive office action may be something like "we need some clarification before we can move forward" or "we have to add a disclaimer to the application." It's just a clerical adjustment and is generally not a big deal.

A substantive office action may be something like "we're not sure this mark is distinctive enough to be eligible for protection" or "we think found another registered mark that may be confusingly similar." This is an invitation for us to argue with the Examiner or otherwise address their concerns. This is usually a bit more involved and can require me to do some research and drafting to prepare a response. This can slow things down a bit, as each back-and-forth with the USPTO typically adds several weeks to the process.

Responding to both substantive and non-substantive office actions as necessary is included in my $1000 flat fee.

If the Examiner doesn't have any concerns, or if they have concerns and we succeed in addressing them, they'll issue an approval for publication. This is the Examiner's way of saying "as far as I'm concerned, this trademark can be registered."

If the Examiner raises concerns and isn't persuaded by our attempts to address them, they'll issue a final refusal. This is their way of saying "As far as I'm concerned, this trademark cannot be registered."

In the good timeline where the Examiner has approved our application for publication, it'll be published for opposition. This is because not all trademarks are registered with the USPTO, and it's possible for an Examiner to not notice some registered mark that may be confusingly similar. A publication for opposition is essentially an announcement to the public that says “Here are the marks the USPTO has approved in the last month. Speak now or forever hold your peace.” This starts a 30-day window during which someone can oppose your application.

If no opposition is filed, congratulations, you’re done! Your application has succeeded and your trademark registration will automatically issue shortly.

If someone does file an opposition, we have a conversation to assess the validity of the opposition and whether or not we want to fight it. If we decide to keep pushing ahead, this starts a simplified trial-like process before the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board, beyond which point it’s hard to make predictions.

In the dark timeline where the Examiner has issued a final refusal but we're sure they were wrong to do so, we can still appeal to the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board. (It's basically the appeals court for trademark applications.)

Responding to oppositions and appealing to the TTAB are both (1) time-consuming, and (2) unlikely, so neither is included in my $1000 flat fee.

As the proud owner of a registered trademark, you’re now free to start using the fancy Ⓡ symbol with your mark. A trademark registration lasts forever, but only as long as you’re continuing to actually use the mark. Basically, 5 years after registration and every 10 years thereafter, you’ll need to make a simple filing with the USPTO that boils down to “Hey, I’m still here and still using this mark.” 

Maintenance filings are also not included in the upfront flat fee, but I'm happy to help with them when the time comes at very favorable rates.