What are the government fees I have to pay?
In addition to our legal fee, you pay a U.S. government fees of $ 325 for each class of goods and services included in your application. Most application are just a single class, but if you use your trademark with multiple goods of different types, more classes may be needed to cover them all. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office maintains a list of the 45 classes.
You say “flat fee,” but what do I pay extra for?
Our flat fee covers preparing and filing your trademark application, reporting to you the status and progress of the application, reporting the publication for opposition stage, and sending you the final certificate of trademark registration in the mail. We will also handle any minor office actions for things like revising the description of goods, submitting foreign trademark registrations, revising the description of your mark, etc. You’ll only pay for two “extras”, and they are quite rare. 1. If there is a substantive refusal (see the discussion below) then we will tell you about it, provide a flat fee quotation and the estimated chance of success, and you can decide whether to have us prepare a legal brief and continue working to register your trademark. 2. If another person or company files an opposition against your application because they think your trademark infringes their rights, you must decide whether to fight back to try to register your trademark. Other than that, the flat fee is all you pay.
What is a substantive refusal?
A substantive refusal is a refusal to register your trademark because of a conflict with someone else’s trademark (legally, a likelihood of confusion with another trademark) a fundamental problem with the nature of your mark (usually that it is merely descriptive of your goods and services). We try to identify these potential problems before filing, so you can decide whether to risk having a problem. But we cannot always predict when a substantive refusal will occur.
Is My Trademark Guaranteed to be Registered?
No. The flat fee you pay is for our services to prepare and file the application and to manage the process. But whether your mark registers depends on factor that we cannot control–including the decision of a federal trademark examiner.
Do you charge extra for talking with the trademark examiner?
No. We frequently have telephone conferences with the trademark examiner for an application to discuss how to adjust wording in the application to that it can be registered. This also helps to speed your application toward registration, since trademark examiners often prefer a quick phone call. And all of this is part of our fixed flat fee.
I live in another state. Are you allowed to help with my trademark?
Yes. We handle U.S. Federal Trademarks. A lawyer who is licensed in any state is able to handle your trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We happen to be licensed in three. Some types of law are focused on specific state rules (like adoption, divorce, and real estate). Intellectual property is generally federal law.
Will a lawyer handle my work or is this just an administrative service?
We are a law firm. A licensed attorney will review your submission, analyze your trademark, communicate with you about it, and review the file as it progresses toward registration. When you compare our flat fee for this level of service with the cost of an administrative filing service, we think you will agree that we provide tremendous value.
Can I wire payment to you instead of paying by credit card?
Yes. Contact us by email with the details about your trademark. We will send you payment wiring instructions.