Register a federal trade mark in the United States
Federal registration with the USPTO gives nationwide rights, a presumption of validity and access to the federal courts.
- Timeline
- 12-18 months to registration
- Cost
- $250-$350 per class of goods or services
- Steps
- 8 stages
Deadline — read this first
Respond to any office action within three months (extendable once); file a statement of use within six months of allowance.
Who can file
Any owner using the mark in commerce, or with a bona fide intent to use it.
Step by step
- 1
Clear the mark
Search the USPTO TESS database, state registers and common-law uses for confusingly similar marks.
- 2
Identify goods and services
Use the Trademark ID Manual; overbroad descriptions attract refusals and extra fees.
- 3
Choose the filing basis
Section 1(a) for marks already in use, Section 1(b) for intent to use.
- 4
File through TEAS
Submit the application with a specimen if filing on a use basis.
- 5
Respond to office actions
Examining attorneys commonly raise likelihood of confusion or descriptiveness objections.
- 6
Publication for opposition
Third parties have 30 days to oppose after publication in the Official Gazette.
- 7
File the statement of use
Intent-to-use applications require proof of actual commercial use before registration issues.
- 8
Maintain the registration
File declarations of continued use between years five and six, and renew every ten years.
Documents you must produce
- Clear image of the mark (for design marks)
- Specimen showing use in commerce
- Owner details and entity type
- Description of goods and services by class
Common mistakes that sink cases
- Filing a merely descriptive mark, which will be refused without acquired distinctiveness.
- Submitting mock-ups rather than genuine specimens of use.
- Missing the maintenance filing window, which cancels the registration.
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