Register your trademark the right way.
Register your name, logo, or tagline with a clearance search behind it and a USPTO filing that holds up. Attorneys do the work at a flat fee, with no billable-hour surprises.
Starting at $2,995 search and application package, plus USPTO filing fees of $350 per class
To register a trademark in the US, you clear the name against existing marks, file an application with the USPTO describing your goods or services in the right classes, and show the mark in use. An examining attorney reviews it; if approved, it is published for opposition and then registers.
Modern Mark’s flat-fee registration packages include a comprehensive search report, an attorney opinion letter, the USPTO filing, and responses to non-substantive office actions. Registration takes on average between 8 and 14 months from filing.
How do I register a trademark?
Start with a clearance search and an attorney’s risk assessment, then file a USPTO application in the right classes with the right filing basis, respond to any office actions, and get through the opposition period. An intent-to-use filing also needs proof of use before it registers.
- Clear the name. This is a legal analysis, and it goes well past a database search. An attorney reviews the federal register, state filings and real-world use, then assesses three risks. Can you use the name without infringing? Will it register? How likely is it to draw a dispute later?
- Choose classes and describe your goods or services the way you sell them. USPTO fees are charged per class, so each class adds a filing fee. See how trademark classes work.
- Pick a filing basis. File based on use if you’ve already launched, or on intent to use if you haven’t.
- File and respond. An examining attorney reviews the application and may issue an office action.
- Publication. Approved marks are published, opening a window for others to oppose.
- Registration. Intent-to-use applications register once you show the mark in use.
Filed on your own and hit a problem? See help for self-filed trademarks.
How does Modern Mark approach trademark strategy?
With the Intellectual Properly™ Framework, the four-step method Modern Mark uses to help clients build brands with trademarks behind them. The four steps are strategize, secure, monitor and enforce, and monetize.
- Strategize. Every trademark journey starts with strategy. In a strategy session we review all your brand assets, identify every potential trademark, evaluate how strong each one is under the law, confirm availability, analyze your rights, and build a plan to secure your most valuable IP.
- Secure. With the plan in place, we secure your rights to your most valuable brand assets, at the federal level, the state level or both.
- Monitor and enforce. An owner who doesn’t police a mark can weaken it over time. We watch for infringement and act quickly when it appears. See trademark monitoring and trademark enforcement.
- Monetize. A trademark is an asset. It can earn income through joint ventures or through licensing that pays you while others use your brand. See trademark licensing and monetization.
Planning the whole brand at once avoids the pitfalls of piecemeal registration, so your trademarks work together and deliver the most value to your business.
Do I need a trademark search before filing?
Yes. Likelihood of confusion with an existing mark is the most common reason applications are refused and the most common basis for oppositions, and most of that risk is visible before you file.
A search looks beyond exact matches to similar-sounding names, related goods and unregistered use. Likelihood of confusion is only one part of the analysis. The attorney opinion letter that comes with it is a full use, registration and litigation risk assessment. It tells you how risky the name is and why, so you can decide before you spend on packaging, domains or ads.
To run a first check of your own, see how to search for a trademark.
How long does trademark registration take?
On average, between 8 and 14 months from filing, depending on the USPTO’s queue and whether your application encounters office actions.
We move fast on our end; most of the wait is on the government’s side. An intent-to-use application locks in your filing date while you build, and that date is what counts if someone else files something similar later.
How much does it cost to register a trademark?
All registration packages are flat-fee. Pricing depends on scope (the search, the application and the number of classes), and you receive an exact quote during your Strategy Session. USPTO filing fees are charged per class.
Responses to non-substantive office actions are included in the package. Substantive office actions are handled at a separate flat fee, and we’ll evaluate your odds before recommending a response.
What are the USPTO filing fees for a trademark?
The USPTO charges a base application fee of $350 per class. Most other USPTO trademark fees are also charged per class, including the surcharges and maintenance filings, so an application in three classes costs three times as much in government fees.
| Filing | Fee per class |
|---|---|
| Base application | $350 |
| Surcharge: insufficient information | $100 |
| Surcharge: free-form goods and services text | $200 |
| Surcharge: each additional 1,000 characters of description | $200 |
| Statement of use (intent-to-use filings) | $150 |
| Extension of time to file a statement of use | $125 |
| Section 8 declaration of use | $325 |
| Section 9 renewal | $325 |
Surcharges apply when an application leaves out information or describes the goods in free-form text instead of using the USPTO’s ID Manual wording. Government fees are separate from Modern Mark’s flat fee.
What deadlines apply while my application is examined?
You have three months to respond to an office action, with one three-month extension available for a fee. Once the mark is published, anyone who objects has 30 days to oppose, extendable up to 180 days.
Intent-to-use applications get a notice of allowance after publication. The statement of use is due within six months of it, and extensions can stretch that to 36 months in total. Madrid Protocol filings follow different response periods.
What happens after my trademark registers?
You start using ®, and you keep the registration alive with maintenance filings, starting with a declaration of use between the fifth and sixth years, then a combined declaration and renewal between the ninth and tenth years and every ten years after that.
Each deadline has a six-month grace period for an extra fee. Miss it and the USPTO cancels the registration. After five years of continuous use you can also file a Section 15 declaration, which makes the registration much harder to challenge. See how long a trademark lasts.
Should I register my trademark federally or with my state?
Federal registration, for most businesses. Many local businesses qualify for federal protection and don’t know it. State registration matters most for goods that are legal in a state but illegal under federal law, such as cannabis.
Federal registration covers the whole country. It requires use of the mark in commerce that Congress can regulate, and that bar is lower than most owners expect. Serving customers from other states, selling online or advertising across state lines can be enough.
Cannabis is the main exception. The USPTO refuses marks for goods that are unlawful under federal law, so cannabis brands rely on state registrations, often alongside federal filings for related lawful goods such as apparel.
Modern Mark handles both. Trademark work is federal, so we serve clients nationwide.
What can I trademark?
Names, logos, slogans and taglines that identify your goods or services, as long as they’re distinctive and not confusingly similar to an existing mark. Distinctive parts of a brand’s look, such as packaging, colors, smells and store layouts, can also be protected as trade dress.
Trademark law ranks names on a scale from strongest to weakest. Distinctive names get stronger protection.
-
Most protected
Fanciful mark
A word or term that is completely made up.
Example Google for a search engine
-
Very protected
Arbitrary mark
A word or term that exists in the dictionary, but is used in an unrelated or arbitrary way.
Example Apple for computers
-
Somewhat protected
Suggestive mark
Suggests a quality or characteristic of the goods or services without actually naming it.
Example KitchenAid for kitchen appliances
-
Not very protected
Descriptive mark
Describes a quality or characteristic of the goods or services.
Example Zer0 for all natural toiletries
-
Not protected
Generic mark
Names the actual goods or services.
Example Press On Nails for artificial nails
Trade dress covers the overall look of a product or business, such as its packaging, colors, shape, sounds, smells or store layout. Some trade dress is distinctive from the start. Colors and smells register only once customers recognize them as your brand.
How it works.
Tell us your needs
Fill out our matter evaluation form. The more detail you provide, the better we can help.
Free matter evaluation
We review your information and determine how we can best help. Free of charge, no commitment.
Schedule your Strategy Session
If we can help, you’ll get a link to a 45-minute strategy session with clear next steps and a quote.
More questions.
Q01Can I wait to file my trademark until my business takes off?
You can, but it is one of the riskiest choices a brand owner makes. Federal registration gives you nationwide priority from your filing date. If someone else files a similar name first, your application can be refused, and the way out may be an opposition, a cancellation or a rebrand, each of which costs far more than filing would have. An intent-to-use application locks in your filing date before you launch.
Q02Can I trademark a name that is already used elsewhere?
Sometimes. If it is used for unrelated goods or services and confusion is unlikely, it may be registrable. If the same or a similar name is used for related goods, expect a refusal or an opposition.
Q03What if my application gets rejected?
It depends on the objection. Non-substantive office actions are covered by your registration package. For a substantive refusal, we assess your chances first and quote the response at a separate flat fee.
Q04Do you work with non-Texas businesses?
Yes. Trademark and copyright work happens at the federal level, so we serve clients nationwide for IP matters.
Q05Can I use ® while my application is pending?
No. Use ™ until the registration issues. See when to use ™ and ®.
Q06Should I file my trademark myself?
You can, if your business is based in the US. The common failure points are a search that only checks exact matches, the wrong classes, and missed office action deadlines. See help for self-filed trademarks.
Related services.
Trademark Enforcement
Cease-and-desist letters, takedowns, UDRP, cancellations and monitoring.
Copyright
Copyright registration, DMCA takedowns when work is copied, and licensing.
Business Contracts
Custom contracts designed to hold up.
Business Formation
The right entity, filed correctly, in nearly any state.
Marketing Compliance
FTC and FDA review of ads, product claims and influencer deals.
Fractional General Counsel
A lawyer on speed-dial, without a full-time hire.
Trademark Monitoring
A year-round watch for copycat filings, with monthly attorney reviews.
Trademark Licensing & Monetization
Licensing, assignments, franchising and co-branding deals that turn a brand into income.
Business Legacy & Estate Planning
Plan who owns and runs the business, and the brand, after you.
IP Litigation
Trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes, taken to court when a letter isn’t enough.
Trademark Oppositions
Received a Notice of Opposition? Your answer deadline and your options for defending or settling it.
Filed It Yourself?
Attorney help when a self-filed application gets an office action, refusal, abandonment, or opposition.
Foreign Applicants
USPTO rules require trademark applicants based outside the US to be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
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