Trademark registration in USA

£600.00
Key Features

About the trademark registration in USA

Trademark registration in the United States of America is achieved by lodging a formal application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The process is a long and complex one, taking up to fourteen months to effect if there are no objections, and up to two years if there is an appeal. If your application is successful, your application details, including your name and address, will appear on the public records.

Coddan strongly recommends that a U.S.A. trademark search is conducted before you apply for the registration of your trademark. The purpose of the trademark search is to ascertain whether or not your trademark will infringe upon the rights of any other trademark currently registered; if it does, the registration of your trademark will not be approved.

As the registration of a trademark is a long and involved process, and considering that the United States Patent Office will not refund application fees for any reason whatsoever, it is prudent to ensure that your trademark is available before you begin the registration process. The trademark search is conducted through the U.S. Patent Office, and is usually completed within two to three weeks.

Before making an application it is also necessary to develop and design your trademark; because trademark registration is territorial and delimited by class, it is also important to take into account your current and proposed future business activities. Although it is possible to register a trademark across several classes, a fee applies for each additional class; it is, therefore, important to find the right balance between cost and your requirements.

Upon a successful application, a trademark is registered, and protected under law, for a period of ten years.

About the trademark registration service

We can take care of the trademark registration process from start to finish.

Stage 1 - filing. To file a U.S.A trademark application in one class we charge a fixed fee of £350.00. Of this, our legal charges for preparing and filing the application are just £150.00. The official filing fee is £200.00.

For each additional class we charge a fixed fee of £100.00. Of this, our legal charges are £50.00 and the official fee is £50.00. It is possible to file a fast-track application which will be examined within 10 business days after filing for an additional £300.00 cost.

Stage 2 - the prosecution. After filing your application, we charge on a time and materials basis for the work we undertake through to the registration of the mark. Our charges will depend upon how straightforward the application is and whether it receives any objections. This is not something we can predict with absolute certainty, although we do aim to warn you if your application is likely to be problematic. There are a wide variety of objections that can be raised by an examiner including that your trademark is descriptive and not distinctive e.g. the trademark SHOES for a 'shoe store'.

In the event of an objection, we would need to respond to the examiner. Responding to objections may include presenting evidence of use, engaging in correspondence and/or attending a hearing with the examiner. A third party may oppose your trademark application on a number of grounds including that it is identical or similar to their trademark and that there exists a likelihood of confusion between your proposed trademark and their registered trademark.

In the event of an opposition, we will advise you of your additional legal charges and expenses before proceeding on your behalf. Note that most but not all trademark applications are straightforward and go through without significant objection or opposition.

The total costs. You are looking at an estimated total cost of £600.00 if the application proves straightforward and is registered in one class only.