But first, what is a trademark? A trademark<\/a> is any word, phrase, symbol, or design used in commerce on goods or services that identifies and distinguishes those goods or services in the marketplace. The trademark indicates that the particular good or service came from a specific source. For example, the brand name \u201cStarbucks,\u201d the McDonald\u2019s \u201cgolden arches\u201d logo, and the Nike \u201cJust Do It\u201d slogan are all trademarks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Further, a trademark can be federally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO<\/a>) for maximum protection by submitting an application (and fee) that establishes a trademark that meets the above definition and is not otherwise statutorily barred<\/a>. Registration with the USPTO gives the public notice of the registrant\u2019s ownership of the trademark, gives the owner an enhanced ability to exclude others from using the same or similar mark on or in connection with the goods or services listed in the registration, and more<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Pre-Filing Costs<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While registering a trademark may seem easy enough, it often requires careful searches of existing trademarks, or \u201cmarks\u201d for short. Because trademark applications can be rejected if the applied-for trademark is too similar to an existing trademark, applicants have to be sure that the mark they are applying for will not be confused with existing marks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For example, a trademark attorney should conduct an initial search (often called a \u201cclearance search\u201d) before applying for a trademark to ensure that there are no confusingly similar marks. This entails searching the USPTO\u2019s trademark database<\/a> and even simple Google searches to look for already-existing marks that may prevent the applicant\u2019s mark from being registered. These attorney searches will often be billed to the client by the attorney\u2019s hourly rate. Depending on the attorney\u2019s seniority level and experience, hourly rates can range in the low hundreds of dollars to even close to $1,000 per hour! Some attorneys or firms may also provide a single \u201cflat rate\u201d to conduct initial trademark searches and complete the application.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Even further, an attorney may suggest that the client pay for a search service<\/a>, which returns a formal booklet with any potentially confusing marks in the marketplace. For those applicants who really want to do their due diligence, commissioned searches are the gold standard for ensuring that their potential mark will register with the USPTO. Unfortunately, they are not cheap \u2014 typically around $800. That means that an applicant can easily spend well over $1,000 on legal costs before even filing an application.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Filing Costs<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Once initial research on existing marks is complete, an applicant may be ready to file. But before filing with the USPTO, applicants should be ready to pull out their credit cards. The typical filing fee for a new trademark is $225 per class<\/a> of goods or services. What does this mean? Basically, an applicant needs to specify each class that it intends to use the trademark in. A class is a way to categorize various goods and services for which a trademark might be used in connection with. The USPTO provides descriptions of each class<\/a> to help a registrant figure out exactly which class or classes she wants to register in. Registrants should keep in mind that they may want to register their mark in multiple classes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For example, an entrepreneur who wishes to create an all-inclusive sports line that encompasses gyms, clothes, and health supplements will need to specify with the USPTO that it intends to use the trademark in each of these three classes. Each class an applicant applies for costs $225 each<\/strong>, so this application is already adding up to $675.<\/strong> Not cheap!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This does not include any attorneys\u2019 fees the applicant pays for initial research conducted, which can easily reach thousands of dollars. For a large, already established business, these costs may not be a problem. But for a small start-up business, these costs can add up quickly when cash may already be tight.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Is that the end of the expenses and fees? Not so fast. Once an applicant has gone through the process of registering a trademark, which can take several months (even years) if the applicant and USPTO debate whether the trademark can be registered, an applicant must monitor the trademark to keep its registration active. If the owner of a trademark does not keep the mark\u2019s registration active with the USPTO, the mark can be \u201cabandoned<\/a>\u201d and may lose its registration. Thus, it is important to stay on top of important deadlines for upkeep of federal trademark registrations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Between the fifth and sixth years of a trademark\u2019s registration, the owner must file a statement alleging that the trademark is still being used in commerce. The cost for this is $125 per class<\/a> of goods and services. Again, more filing fees, and likely more attorneys\u2019 fees as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But it doesn\u2019t end there. Between the ninth and tenth years of registration, the owner must again file a statement alleging that the trademark is still being used in commerce, as well as an application for renewal. This cost is the steepest of them all, ringing in at $425 for each class of goods or services in the registration. And you guessed it, likely more attorneys\u2019 fees. This same process must be repeated every ten years<\/a> in order to keep the trademark active.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In addition to keeping up with USPTO requirements, trademark owners should also \u201cpolice\u201d their mark. Once a mark is registered with the USPTO, it is in the trademark owner\u2019s best interest to make sure that there are no similar marks being used in the marketplace that may confuse consumers, i.e., infringing marks. For this reason, some trademark owners utilize monitoring or \u201cwatchdog\u201d service<\/a>s, which constantly survey the marketplace and alert the owner if there is a mark that is similar in the marketplace. This will require a monthly or yearly fee. Additionally, if a trademark owner does find a potentially infringing use, an attorney will often draft a cease and desist letter to tell the owner of the potentially infringing mark to stop its use. As suspected, this includes even more attorneys\u2019 fees and costs. Moreover, if the infringing use does not continue, this needs to be followed up with a trademark infringement suit. As you can see, the costs of having a trademark often don\u2019t end once the trademark is registered with the USPTO.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Bite the Bullet<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After all those fees and costs, you may wonder: is it all really worth it? The answer: YES! Having a federally registered trademark provides invaluable protection. It will protect you from other people who want to use your name, logo, slogan, or whatever your trademark may be. Without a trademark registration, a pricey battle over who has the rights to a certain logo, for example, can be far more expensive than the previously discussed costs. Having a federal trademark registration has several benefits, including that fact that it creates a legal presumption that you own the mark nationwide. Bottom line: bite the bullet and save yourself time and money in the long run by seeking trademark registration.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n Katherine Sieve Having a trademark may provide business owners protection to create a unique brand for their company, but at what cost? Having and maintaining a trademark comes with financial burdens that may create a roadblock for entrepreneurs looking to build their brand. Continue reading Is Having a Trademark Cheap? Not Quite.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":3506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[149,322],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trademarks","tag-ip","tag-trademarks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4326,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions\/4326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Picture1.png\")
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Senior Editor
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D. 2020<\/i><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"