Trademark Registration Process

IF YOU ARE READY TO BEGIN THE TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESS, CLICK HERE

…but if you want to learn more about our process, your purchase options, the concept of international classes and related issues, please read this first.

Why Register Your Mark?

Federal trademark registration offers important benefits as compared to unregistered marks, including:

• Registration offers additional rights
• Registration acts as a deterrent to trademark disputes
• Registration offers better remedies in an actual dispute
• A registered trademark has a lot more value on your balance sheet

For these reasons, you should consider registering anything related to your business that identifies and distinguishes your goods or services from those of the competition.

The VeriTrademark^® Process

Every law practice had a different process for trademark registration. Many lawyers will charge you simply for their paralegals to fill out forms. Some law firms (and… ahem… services masquerading as law firms) use a rigid and archaic process that isn't very sensitive to the fact that the information landscape in business has changed rapidly in recent years with the proliferation of new technology and the internet.

VeriTrademark^® lawyers favor a value-centric approach. We strongly encourage you to allow us to clear a trademark (to "clear" a mark is to opine that it is worthy of registration in light of the nature of the mark and the nature of similar marks already in the marketplace for similar goods or services, regardless of registration status). The VeriTrademark^® process offers insight into the following questions:

• Are there any existing registered marks that trump your mark based on the "likelihood of confusion" legal standard?
• Are there any formerly registered marks or existing unregistered marks likely to pose a problem for your mark?
• Are there any statutory bars to registering your mark?
• Assuming the mark is capable of registration, how effective will it be at deterring future infringers?
• Is the mark dilutive or any existing registered marks?

Cost To Clear and Register a Mark

Federal trademark registration is a 9 to 18 month process with a number of milestones along the way. Preparing a federal trademark application is deceptively complex, as each application question seems easy to answer, but in reality presents a minefield of potential problems – each with significant legal and economic consequences. VeriTrademark^® provides clearance and registration services on a flat fee basis.

VeriTrademark will perform a cursory search of the federal trademark register (to avoid obvious conflicts) and prepare a federal trademark application in one class for $795 (this includes the filing fee, which can range between $275-375 as of this writing). Each additional class is essentially a new trademark application with new filing fees, and costs $495.

For an additional $500 flat fee, the VeriTrademark^® search process offers the following benefits:

1. A search based on the VeriTrademark^® proprietary search process
2. A trademark opinion letter (typically 5+ pages of analysis)
3. Up to thirty minutes of discussion to review and illuminate the various issues raised by the search (and detailed in the letter)

Given that almost every potential trademark has legal issues that are difficult for the untrained mind to spot, we highly recommend that you purchase our analysis prior to filing.

ARE YOU READY TO APPLY FOR A TRADEMARK? CLICK HERE

What Are International Classes?

The US trademark office ("USPTO") uses the international classification system of goods and services as a guide to register trademark. This system of 45 classes (34 classes of goods, 11 classes of services). If you are using a trademark for goods and services that fall into more than one class, these are essentially separate trademarks with separate filing fees. When filling out our VeriTrademark Trademark Information Form, do your best to describe the goods and services, and we will help you to determine whether multiple classes are necessary (if you know that two classes are necessary, you may simply check the box on our form).

ARE YOU READY TO APPLY FOR A TRADEMARK? CLICK HERE

Office Actions

An office action is communication from the USPTO that presents a barrier to registering a mark and requires a time-sensitive response.

Procedural office actions require further clarification or information with the examiner but do not require a legal argument. VeriTrademark^® offers complementary responses to procedural office actions with any purchase of a basic trademark application.

Substantive office actions require a legal argument. VeriTrademark^® fees start at $825 for responses to substantive office actions. These are never included as part of our flat fee registration process but our trademark analysis will often alert you to the possibility of such an issue.

Do You Want To Hire VeriTrademark To Respond To An Office Action?

If you've already applied for a trademark and received an office action, we will review it for free. Fees start at $350 for non-complex procedural office actions. We will provide a complementary review of the office action and quote you a flat fee for a response.

FILL OUT THE OFFICE ACTION RESPONSE FORM HERE