HOW MUCH DOES A TRADEMARK COST?
In true legal fashion, there really is only one way to answer this: It depends.
When it comes to determining how much a trademark costs, there are two, sometimes three, fees that you will be dealing with.
First, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) requires a government filing fee for each application. That fee is either $250 or $350, depending on the type of application you file and how you describe the goods and services covered by that mark. One important thing to note here is that the USPTO requires a separate application fee for each application and each class of goods/services.
To help you understand this, let’s assume you have started your own barbecue restaurant and have decided it’s time to get some trademark protection. Not only do you provide amazing service and great food, but you also sell your very own BBQ sauce that is made in-house and under your own label. You give your trademark attorney a call (hopefully me), and tell him/her that you want to protect (1) your restaurant’s name and (2) your logo. In your mind, this is pretty straightforward and will all go under a single application and fee.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does not work that way!
The best way to protect both your name and logo is to file them under separate applications. If you file them both under one, and you end up changing your logo a bit, you would have to file a completely new application to cover the new design. If you file them separately, the name will always be protected no matter what you do with the logo. It also gives others less opportunity to design a different logo and argue that you can coexist with a similar name
As you may have guessed, the downside of filing two separate applications is that you will be required to pay at least two application fees.
But wait…there’s more…
When filing your application, you need to disclose what you are trying to protect. This is covered by the classes I mentioned before. The USPTO splits its list of classes into goods and services. In this restaurant example, you would have two classes: one for the restaurant (service) and one for the BBQ sauce (goods). With each application fee covering a single class, your trademark applications would break down as follows:
- Name
- Class 1 – Restaurant Services (Application fee: $250 – $350)
- Class 2 – BBQ Sauce (Application fee: $250 – $350)
- Logo
- Class 1 – Restaurant Services (Application fee: $250 – $350)
- Class 2 – BBQ Sauce (Application fee: $250 – $350)
As you can see, you are up to FOUR application fees because you would need two filings, each covering two separate classes. Keep in mind that many of the goods and services fall under the same class and as long as you stay within that class, a single application fee will suffice.
The second fee is the legal fee, if you choose to use an attorney to file your trademark. This varies from attorney to attorney, but is usually a fixed fee for the initial application. Here at Garbis Law, I provide a flat fee to submit a trademark application. This legal fee includes:
- A knockout search on the USPTO database to determine if there are any identical or similar marks;
- Analysis of the search results and recommendations based off of the search;
- Filing the application for a single class of goods or services; and
- Monitoring the application through the trademark process.
It does not, however, include any responses to Office Actions received from the USPTO during the examination process. Office Actions are issued when your application is not allowed registration for whatever reason and an argument must be made to convince the Examiner to accept it and push it through the process. The fees for Office Action responses vary depending on the argument needed to be made, but would be discussed with you prior to filing so you have an idea of what you can expect.
Finally, the third fee I mentioned covers a comprehensive trademark search that looks into more than just the USPTO database. These searches tend to be relatively more expensive compared to the cost of filing, but fees vary from search to search. With a comprehensive search, you will more information when you are deciding whether or not to continue under a specific mark or to abandon it and look for something else more unique.
If you have any other questions about costs associated with trademark filings, or would like to discuss your strategy with a trademark attorney, please contact me for a consultation.
