Trademark Application Cost

Each trademark requires a separate application (for example, if you want to trademark "Raleigh Really Righteous Rods" for your hot rod garage, and also wanted to trademark "RRRR" either as a word or stylized logo), each one of those would require a separate trademark application.

For each application, you will want to do a trademark search to find out if someone else has superior rights to the mark. It's no fun having to surrender a trademark later after you've printed the stationery and t-shirts. Just searching TESS (the US Patent and Trademark Organization online trademark database) isn't enough, since the first to use a mark in commerce has the best rights to a mark (not the first to apply for trademark protection). A decent trademark search will cost around $500 for each mark

For each application, there is an application fee. The application fee is about $300 (it depends on whether you are able to file a complete application electronically. If so, it's $275. If not, it's $325).

Those are the basic costs if you're doing it all yourself. It's not rocket science, but it does require a certain amount of expertise to get it right, and you can probably save yourself some time and grief to have a trademark attorney handle it for you. Figure around another $300 per mark for that - it's money well spent if you really don't have a deep longing to monkey around with the application rules and forms or your time is more profitable spent in other ventures.

Fees obviously vary based on the complexity of the facts involved and also on the amount of time that the attorney needs to devote to you and your legal matters, but you should be able to find an attorney to conduct a trademark availability search and analysis for anywhere between $500 and $1500. Filing the actual trademark will likely run between $500 and $1000. Fees can be higher if you are searching/filing more than one mark or if the mark will be used in association with goods and services that fall into more than one of the defined categories/classifications of goods and services that are recognized by the USPTO.

Trademark legal fees are typically rather low in comparison to other business expenses. You will probably be better served finding an attorney that you trust and one that you can see yourself working with into the future rather than worrying about the exact dollar amount of the services. You may want to look for referrals from friends, family, other business associates.

Only one of the financial costs is getting your application wrong and wasting non-refundable USPTO fees (as noted about $300 per mark, per class).

First, you need to consult a TM lawyer about what your business is and might expand into, and how you can choose a viable and available mark (or two, or more). The Trademark Office's fees are nothing compared to the time (figure a year) and money you'll spend investing in 1 or more marks that may never get registered.

Half of all marks that are applied for never get registered - I don't know what percenatge of those are ones filed by people who tried to get it done themselves without hiring a lawyer, and I know even experienced lawyers sometimes can't get an application through, but I'm pretty confident that your odds increase a lot with a lawyer.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Sounds like you want to apply for federal trademark registration of your "word" mark (maybe a related design as well) AND an acronym of the word mark, so that's at least two applications. If you go the "DIY" route, two applications will cost you less than $700.00 to file electronically. Also, despite what you may have heard recently on one company's radio ad, you can NOT "get a trademark in minutes." The trademark examiner won't even look at your application for months.

To underscore a few pieces of the advice already given in this string, preparing and filing an application for a federal trademark application may seem - and even be - relatively simple (compared, for instance, to a patent application), but it's also easy to make some mistakes that might only cost you more money later (correcting the mistakes). But worse, mistakes might entangle you in an "Opposition" or "Cancellation" action at the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (sort of "administrative" lawsuits, as opposed to courtroom/jury trials).

So, even though you can pull your own tooth, it's well worth going to the dentist for the proper preparation, care and follow-up.