Trademark Application Process

Following on from the last post, let’s assume that you’ve chosen an arbitrary and fanciful mark for your goods or services and that you want to register your mark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). What is the process? This post will provide a cursory view of what you, as a business owner, should expect from the trademark application process. We’ll assume for this post that you are filing for a standard character mark in one class of goods for a product that you are already using in commerce.

First, you need to file an application that includes your contact information and dates of first use of your mark in commerce and anywhere. You’ll also need to file a specimen showing your mark as used in commerce in connection with your goods and services. And, of course, you’ll need to pay a filing fee to the government. Filing fees range from $275.00–$325.00 per class of goods or services.

After submitting your application, the PTO will assign a trademark examiner to review your application. This usually occurs 6–9 months after you submit your application. The examiner looks for technical errors in your application such as failure to include a specimen or date of first use and also looks for substantive reasons to refuse your application. We’ll look at substantive reasons for refusal in later posts, as you should be aware of the many reasons for refusal to help you choose your mark.

Assuming that the examiner accepts your application, they will publish your mark for opposition in the Official Gazette. Under the Lanham Act—the federal trademark law—any person who believes that they will be damages by the registration of your mark can oppose your application for registration. The person must give a reason for opposition and must do so in 30 days.

Assuming that no one opposes your application for registration, the PTO will register your mark and send you a registration certificate complete with a little blue ribbon and a registration number.

As I noted in this post, this process is the simplest, most straightforward route to registration, but the process is rarely this easy. As a business owner, you should be prepared for some bumps along the way even if you’ve cleared your mark prior to submitting your application. I’ll discuss trademark clearance in a future post.