lot of law firms and online document filing sites advertise their willingness to file your trademark application. However, all trademark application services are not the same. In fact, they vary greatly. As with any purchase, you should determine what you want or need and whether the seller can provide that to you and at what quality.
With that in mind we offer you a breakdown of our trademark registration services. Our firm has extensively analyzed trademark law and the filing process to come up with a package of services for a single flat fee. We believe this package offers just what the client needs and allows the client to obtain what he or she wants – trademark registration – at a low price, as quickly as possible, and without making the process overly complicated.
Our firm offers both trademark registration (for a mark already in use) and trademark reservation (for a mark before it is put into actual use).
How Our Service Differs from Others
- Full Attorney Involvement. Our firm includes attorneys familiar with trademark matters including procedural requirements of the Trademark Act, the Trademark Rules of Practice, and the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure. Rest assured your application will be handled by an attorney who regularly practices trademark law and not a clerk at a legal document filing service.You may contact an attorney familiar with all aspects of the trademark registration process before or while filing the application. Feel free to contact us by phone or by email.
- Low Cost. Trademark applications are processed for a low flat fee. We can charge this low fee because we thoroughly know the application process. You receive the expertise of a law firm at the price of a filing service. A legal filing service may offer competitive prices to ours but will not offer the same service. A service that files the application as submitted without a comprehensive search and evaluation of the search results may very well cost more in the long run. If the application is rejected, has to be refilled, does not secure broad rights, or leads to trademark litigation, any initial cost savings will be wiped out. We request only partial payment initially, enough to cover a review of the client’s information, discussions with the client, a comprehensive trademark search, and a breakdown of the results of the search with a legal opinion as to whether registration is recommended. In rare instances, the desired mark may be completely unavailable and the client will agree that registration should not be pursued. In such a case, we have not collected legal or filing fees from the client which must then be returned.We complete the filing using the lowest federal filing fee available. The trademark office charges a filing fee of either $250 or $350 per class. See Trademark Processing Fees. We obtain the necessary information and ensure the filing requirements are met so the applicant may pay the lowest filing fee.
We do not charge additional legal fees for filing the same mark in multiple classes. The USPTO and the Secretary of State calculate filing fees per class, and many attorneys and online filing sites do the same. While completing a filing in additional classes does require additional legal work, our flat fee will not change.
- Confirmation of Registrability. It is not uncommon for a person unfamiliar with trademark law to seek registration of an improper mark. A mark will not be registered if it is merely descriptive, generic, geographic, ornamental, or a variety of other disallowed qualities. See the USPTO’s FAQ. Such a problem with the mark itself constitutes a “substantive” reason for which the USPTO will refuse to register the mark. Our firm confirms that the mark itself can function as a trademark before going any further in the process. We inform the client if there is a way to alter the mark to improve its likelihood for registration.
- Comprehensive Trademark Search. A trademark search is an absolute requirement before attempting to use or register a mark. Use of a mark that has already been registered may constitute “willful infringement” and subject the offender to large money damages. An effective search will reveal whether an intended mark would infringe on an existing trademark, thereby preventing a costly legal action or a necessary rebranding effort down the road. And without a proper search, all the time and money expended towards the registration process will be lost.A mark will not be registered if there is a “likelihood of confusion” between it and a previously registered trademark. A “likelihood of confusion” takes some knowledge of trademark law and experience to recognize. Because two marks need not be identical for there to be a “likelihood of confusion”, any service advertising that it conducts an “exact” or “direct” search for identical marks is not sufficient. See the USPTO’s TESS Tips.Our firm conducts its search using the same methods as the USPTO examiners. We search federal and state (as appropriate) trademark databases for registered and applied for marks and “common law” (unregistered) records as well. We consider domain names, social network profiles, yellow page listings, and a variety of other possibilities to uncover both registered and unregistered marks.We do not offer different trademark search options or charge an additional fee for searches of similar marks, design marks, etc. Our search is based on the legal standard of “likelihood of confusion” and is designed to find all marks that might pose a problem to registration. If you want to apply for a trademark, this is the level of search you need to reduce the likelihood of registration problems.
- Attorney Opinion Letter. Our search results are coupled with our recommendations as to whether a trademark application should be filed. We breakdown potential conflicts with existing marks, the level of similarity between the marks, and what other options the applicant may take if there is a conflict.In some cases, we recommend forgoing applying for registration of the submitted mark, thereby saving the client legal and application fees that otherwise would be lost. Only attorneys may offer legal advice, and we present such advice clearly and thoroughly so the client knows exactly how to proceed.
- Completion of Application. The trademark application process is not easily or quickly understood. All applicants, whether attorneys or non-attorneys, experienced or first time filers, are held to the same standards to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of the application process. If an application is not submitted properly, an applicant may face both USPTO and third party objections before a mark may be registered. Errors or omissions in the application process may constitute fraud which will cause the registration to be cancelled.Our firm has the knowledge and experience to handle any trademark registration issues that may arise. We make sure the application is accurately submitted because once submitted, filing fees are non-refundable. Our completion of your application helps ensure that such fees will not be needlessly lost, reduces the likelihood of substantive Office Actions or registration delays, and lets the applicant achieve broad rights upon registrationOur knowledge of the process allows us to submit the application soon after receiving the client’s information. This is important because an earlier filing date will have priority over later applications for similar marks.
- Other Trademark Services Offered. By using our firm, you have the ability to apply for both a federal and Kentucky trademark at the same time using a single entry form and paying a single fee for all legal and filing fees.Our firm handles far more trademark-related matters than registration alone. We handle trademark maintenance and renewal filings, trademark assignments, trademark infringement notices and responses, etc. If you retain our firm for later trademark issues that may arise, we will be more familiar with you and the prior filings than anyone else would be.