What is the fee for filing a trademark? And other ?’s?
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at
7:42 am
Mister C asked:
The page for fees is a bit confusing on USPTO, and reading answers from another human is always an easier way for me
. So i’m asking: trying to file for a trademark for a company name, logo, and such, how much would that be?
The page for fees is a bit confusing on USPTO, and reading answers from another human is always an easier way for me
. So i’m asking: trying to file for a trademark for a company name, logo, and such, how much would that be?
Renewals? are they suppose to be renewed after a certain point?
I read it’s wise to hire an attorney that specializes in trademarks and such. What would be the rough cost of hiring one?
This is coming from a motivated college student with little money, so the more thorough answers i receive, the less stress i will have in planning my future business.
Thanks in advance!!
They have plenty of free library books, regarding trademark and patents.
go to Nolo press.
I have a book purchased by them, but it’s too late at night to do that much thinking.
and I need to do this for myself. sorry.
go to the library tomorrow.
DON’T hire an attorney- it’s a total ripoff
First off, paying for a trademark is usually a waste of money since if a company wants to infringe, you’ve got to put out tens of thousands of dollars to litigate
Use your precious capital for getting your business off the ground instead. Same for incorporating- don’t incorporate until your business REALLY takes off since if you’re sued you will need to throw money at an attorney instead of being able to represent yourself- a bad use of funds.
If you still really want to go for a trademark, email me and I’ll consider doing one for you for a small fee- I’ve done hundreds of them.
First, you cannot “trademark” a ***** company name. You can “register” a company name as a corporation or d/b/a or fictitious name, keeping others from using the identical name in your state.
You can only trademark a brand used (or intended to be used) on goods or services. If the company name is used ON the goods, as a brand, then maybe you can register it. The name and logo can be on the same registration if they’re connected in the same graphic. (“FooBar word mark and design”) Otherwise, you might file one registration for the brand name and another for the brand logo.
Second, you do not need to register a US trademark in order to obtain legal protection; you simply use it in commerce, in association with your goods or services. Registration does, however, provide warning to others that you claim a property right in the brand.
Third, you can register a trademark in your state for probably a lot less hassle than federal filing. I have had marks registered in the Secretary of State’s office while I waited at the counter.
Fourth, the federal filing is not simple, you can mess it up in many ways, depending upon what you’re trying to do, and discover that you have to start over. Someone experienced might help you, but why not hire a professional?
Fifth, the filing fees are linked to the number of “classes” of goods and services covered by the application; one fee for each class (there are dozens of classes). So, if you’re trying to register for a brand of shoes and for a film about how to use the shoes, that would be a two-class registration. The USPTO website has detailed handbooks for proper classification, or you can start by looking at existing registrations for some competitors in your field. (“Hmm. Why do they have six different registrations?”)
Yes, registrations have to be renewed from time to time, Federals need to have a filing made at 6 years, then again at 10 years, and every ten years after that, assuming you can prove you’re still using the brand. Some state reg’ns may still last 20 years.
Sixth, buy a book from Nolo or the like, poke around the USPTO website a bit more, figure out what you’re trying to do, put together all the information required for the filing, and hire an attorney to do it for you. That way you have someone else to blame if it gets messed up; someone with insurance.
If you do most of the prep yourself, a trademark attorney can do a preliminary search and clearance opinion, and file an application for a few hundred dollars (plus whatever filing fees you’d pay anyway). It takes a few days, minimum. Then wait a few months for your first correspondence. If the application is opposed, it could take years before you get a federal registration (if ever).
Of my several hundred trademark clients over the years, a number of them have only first come in when they get the nasty letter back from the examiners and discover their application can’t be salvaged because they put the wrong name in as the owner, or they submitted a “sample” with the circle-R already on it, or the sample didn’t match the description of the goods, or the description was too narrow, or the mark was similar to one already registered in the same field, etc.