Trademark FAQs
How much does it cost to get a trademark application on file and how long will it take to get the filing done?
I charge a flat fee of $325 to do a trademark “knockout” search and filing in the patent office for a one class trademark. There is also a trademark filing fee of $350 for the one class. There are extra fees if you want the trademark to cover multiple different kinds of things, since each thing you want to cover may be classified in a separate class. See the FAQ below about trademark classes.
Are there any other costs to get the trademark?
If the trademark office agrees that the trademark should be accepted, and you have filed based on actual use of the trademark, then there will be no additional costs. If the trademark office finds something wrong with the trademark, there will be additional costs for me to file a response to address this. Also, if you filed the trademark based on your intent to use it, there will be a $500 fee at the time you actually use the trademark .
How long will it take me to get the trademark and what’s the process?
The trademark office usually examines trademarks within 3 to 5 months from filing. If there are any objections at that point, the trademark office might send us a rejection. If there are no rejections at that point the trademark will be published for opposition. If all goes well, we get the trademark around 4 months after that. Most of the time it takes 7 to 12 months to get a trademark from its initial filing.
Can I check on the status of the trademark?
Yes, after I file the trademark, I will give you a link, which will allow you to check the status of the trademark 24 hours a day and will show you the real-time status of what is happening in the patent office.
Can I still file a trademark if I’ve already used the name?
Yes: in fact many of your rights will extend back to the first day on which the name was used.
Can I still file a trademark if I haven’t use the name yet?
Yes, if you haven’t used the name yet, the trademark gets filed as an “intent to use” trademark.
What do you need for me to file the trademark?
To file the trademark I need:
The name that is going to be used or the logo
if the name is in a foreign language, I need an English translation of the words
I need to know the goods and services that the trademark will be used with
I need to know if you have already use the trademark. If you have used it, then I need the date of first use of your trademark, and a photo of the product with the name or logo used on it. Otherwise, we can file as intent to use, see the FAQ above.
What do I have to do to use a brand in a way that will let me get a trademark?
You have to use the trademark to sell a product or service in a way that’s legal in the United States.
What is a trademark class?
There are many different trademark classes, each representing a different product or service which the trademark office classifies differently. For example, clothes are in one class, Internet services are in another class. You have to pay the trademark office separately for each class you want to file in. For example if you’re a gym, you might file under gymnasiums as one class, and you might also want to use your logo on a T-shirt which would be another class. Each trademark class is considered a separate trademark application, and they can be examined and rejected separately.
What kinds of rejections does the trademark office raise against trademarks?
The two most common rejections are based on likelihood of confusion with another trademark, or that the trademark is merely descriptive of the product or service that you’re using it with.
A trademark will be rejected if it’s sufficiently close to another trademark in us the same or a similar class. The trademark office will say that your trademark raises a likelihood of confusion with the other trademark. We can file an office action response to attempt to explain why to trademarks are not confusingly similar.
A trademark will also be rejected if the patent office thinks that the mark merely describes an ingredient or quality of the goods or services that it’s being used to describe. Usually we can either argue these, or file a trademark in a special way that avoids this kind of rejection.
