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 |  | Do-It-Yourself: $325-$375 |  | Medium: $600-$1,000 |  | High: $1,000-$2,000+ |
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Trademarks are distinctive words, pictures or logos that sellers use to identify their product, such as the Nike swoosh or Coca-Cola's "It's the Real Thing." Trademarks can be protected under federal, state and common law; federal registration offers the most protection and common law the least. According to the New York State Science and Technology Law Center[1] , trademark fees can be broken into filing fees, trademark searches, attorney fees for an opinion and attorney fees for the trademark application.
Typical costs: | - It costs $275-$375 (paper submissions cost more than online[2] ) to file an application for a single trademark for a single class of goods or services with the USPTO[3] . Each application must include a description and "drawing" of your proposed trademark, when it was first used, the products and/or services on which it will be used, a suggested classification (out of approximately 40 listed by the USPTO) under which it should be registered and samples of how the mark is being used.
- For federal registration, do a trademark search first, to be sure your potential name, phrase or symbol doesn't conflict with an existing trademark. Free online searches can be done at The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)[4] , but with a limited database. Thompson and Thompson[5] is a leading provider of trademark searches of federal, state and other records. In both cases you must review the search results yourself to determine if your proposed trademark is available for registration. According to BasicPatents.com[6] , Thompson and Thompson charges them $380 per name per class. The New York State Science and Technology Law Center estimates searches to cost $400-$600.
- Basic Patents.com[7] charges an additional $320 for an opinion, or $700 for a trademark search and opinion. The New York State Science and Technology Law Center estimates attorney fees for an opinion to run $500-$1,000.
- Basic Patents.com[8] charges $1,000 to prepare, docket and file a trademark application. The New York State Science and Technolgy Law Center estimates attorney fees relative to trademark application to run $1,000-$1,500.
- Each state issues its own trademark registration, but often it's not worth the effort because federal registration has higher legal standing, according to The New York State Science & Technology Center[9] .
- Nolo Press sells a basic do-it-yourself book on trademarks for $30-$35 (online or paper).
Related articles: Copyright, Patent, Incorporating a Business
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What should be included: | - Cornell Law School[10] gives a concise overview of trademark law.
- The American Bar Association[11] lists the basic steps for registering a trademark and The US Patent and Trademark Offices[12] goes into even greater detail.
Additional costs: | - A government attorney reviews each application[13] to decide if the proposed trademark can be registered; if the answer is no, you have a chance to file more evidence in favor of your trademark registration, but you could end up having to choose a new mark and starting over with all new costs.
Shopping for a trademark: | - An attorney is not required for the trademark process, but if you want legal guidance, The American Bar Association[14] links to legal resources by state, including free or low-cost legal help, the bar association to check that a lawyer is licensed in that state, and referrals to local lawyers.
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
| Posted by: CostHelper.com in San Jose, CA. | Posted: July 22nd, 2007 11:07PM |
Thank you for your feedback. We updated the article in July 2007. We expanded the USPTO fees to include the stricter TEAS Plus form (which costs $50 less), we clarify and link to several sources of our estimates for search and attorney opinion fees, and we corrected attorney fees by separating opinion and application fees. |
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| Posted by: ArborlawDotCom in Ann Arbor, MI. | Posted: July 21st, 2007 11:07AM |
| Firm: Arborlaw Associates PLLC | Granted: |
A number of costs in the article "Cost of a Trademark" are not accurate. Starting with the Thomson & Thomson search (recommended), a US Full Availability search is priced at $595, and a Company Name Search is $930. This is triple the reported price range. With regard to the filing fees at the USPTO, there is actually a cheaper online fee than is reported here -- an online application can be filed for $275 ($325 applies in many cases and $375 is the first class mail price). I have yet to see a lawyer who will do a search and opinion letter for $600-800 as claimed, because the searching fees alone are $595-$930. Most lawyers take 2 hours to do a search review and opinion letter (at whatever is that lawyer's hourly rate). The amount reported for using a lawyer to file an application ($700-$2000) is in my experience a good estimate -- it is very accurate. One more thing to note, most lawyers will not handle an application *already in progress* (ie, one filed by a mark owner) for a flat fee -- they will make you pay standard hourly charges. |
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External Resources: | - nys-stlc.syr.edu/lawlibrary/trademark/registration.aspx
- www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/index.jsp
- www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/howtofile.jsp
- www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/acadres.htm
- trademarks.thomsonreuters.com/region
- www.basicpatents.com/tmfees.htm
- www.basicpatents.com/tmfees.htm
- www.basicpatents.com/tmfees.htm
- nys-stlc.syr.edu/lawlibrary/trademark/registration.aspx
- nys-stlc.syr.edu/lawlibrary/trademark/registration.aspx
- nys-stlc.syr.edu/lawlibrary/trademark/registration.aspx
- www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/index.jsp
- www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/index.jspafterapp.htm#legal
- apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/home.cfm
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