Trademark questions, answered plainly

How much does it cost to trademark a name?

USPTO filing fees run $250 to $350 per class, plus attorney fees — most straightforward applications through a flat-fee firm land under $1,000 total.

Costs climb from there if the examining attorney issues an office action, if you're filing across multiple classes of goods and services, or if someone opposes your application after it publishes. Ask any firm quoting a flat fee exactly what's included if the USPTO pushes back — that's usually where "cheap" filings turn expensive.

How long does it take to trademark a name?

Plan on 12 to 18 months from filing to registration for a typical application with no complications.

A clean file — no office action, no opposition — can register in 8 to 10 months. One office action response can add 4 to 6 months on its own, which is the biggest reason to get the application right the first time rather than file it yourself and hope.

What is a trademark office action and how do I respond?

An office action is a formal legal objection from the USPTO — you have three months to respond in writing, or the application is abandoned.

Office actions range from simple fixes (clarifying a goods description) to substantive legal refusals (likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness) that require actual legal argument. Treat the three-month clock seriously; extensions cost money and aren't guaranteed to work in your favor.

What's the difference between TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard?

TEAS Plus is cheaper per class but locks you into the USPTO's pre-approved list of goods and services; TEAS Standard costs more but lets you write a custom description.

If your business doesn't fit neatly into a standard category — a hybrid product, a niche service — Standard often saves money later by avoiding a mismatched description that draws an office action.

What happens after I file a trademark application?

Your application moves through four stages before registration:

1. An examining attorney is assigned, typically 3 to 4 months after filing.
2. The examiner either approves the application or issues an office action requiring a response.
3. Once approved, the mark publishes in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition window.
4. If no one opposes it, the mark proceeds to registration (or to a Notice of Allowance if filed on an intent-to-use basis).

What trademark class is my business in?

Classes are based on your specific goods and services, not your industry as a whole — there are 45 classes, and many businesses need more than one.

A software company selling both an app and consulting services may need two classes. Filing in the wrong class, or too few, is one of the most common — and most expensive to fix after the fact — mistakes in a self-filed application.

Can I trademark a name someone else already uses in a different industry?

Often, yes — trademark rights are generally confined to the classes where the mark is actually used.

Delta Faucets and Delta Air Lines coexist because no reasonable customer would confuse a faucet with a flight. The analysis gets murkier the closer your industries are, which is exactly what a clearance search is meant to catch before you spend money on a name.

Why was my trademark application rejected?

The most common reason is a likelihood of confusion refusal — the USPTO believes your mark is too close to an existing registration in a related class.

Other frequent grounds: the mark is merely descriptive of the goods (like "Cold Ice Cream" for ice cream), or it's found to be generic and unprotectable outright. Most of these are avoidable with a clearance search before filing, not after.

What happens if I use a trademark without registering it?

You still hold common law rights in the geographic area where you've actually used the mark — but those rights are narrow and hard to enforce outside that footprint.

Federal registration gives you nationwide priority, a legal presumption of ownership, and the right to use the ® symbol. If you plan to grow beyond your immediate area, unregistered use is a gap that catches up with you eventually.

Is trademark registration worth it for a small business?

For most businesses building a brand meant to last, yes — it's what lets you stop a copycat in another state before it costs you customers.

The upfront cost of registering is almost always lower than the cost of rebranding, or litigating, after someone else builds on your name first.

State trademark vs. federal trademark — what's the difference?

A state trademark only protects your mark within that state's borders; a federal trademark through the USPTO protects it nationwide.

State registration is cheaper and faster, which makes sense for a purely local business with no expansion plans. Anyone selling online or planning to grow benefits more from federal registration from day one.

Trademark vs. copyright vs. patent — what's the difference?

A trademark protects brand identifiers (names, logos); a copyright protects original creative works (writing, code, art); a patent protects new inventions or processes.

A single product can involve all three at once — a patented device, sold under a trademarked brand name, with copyrighted packaging design. Most businesses only need one or two of these, and figuring out which is usually a five-minute conversation.

Do I need to renew my trademark?

Yes — file a Section 8 declaration of continued use between years 5 and 6, then renew every 10 years with a combined Section 8 and 9 filing.

Miss these deadlines and the registration gets cancelled, no exceptions. It's the single most common way a business loses a trademark it otherwise did everything right to earn.

What happens if I stop using my trademark?

Three consecutive years of non-use with no intent to resume creates a legal presumption of abandonment.

Abandonment is one of the most common grounds for a cancellation challenge at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board — if you pause a product line, keep records showing you intend to pick it back up.

Can I trademark my logo and business name separately?

Yes, and it's usually the right call — a word mark protects the name as text regardless of styling, while a design mark protects the specific visual logo.

Registering both gives broader coverage than either alone, especially if you expect your logo to evolve over time while the name stays fixed.

What is a trademark cancellation proceeding?

It's a case filed at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board asking to cancel an existing registration — usually on grounds like abandonment, fraud, or likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark.

It runs like a formal litigation: pleadings, discovery, briefing, and a decision — separate from, and often less expensive than, federal court.

How do I respond to a cease and desist letter for trademark infringement?

Don't respond directly, and don't ignore it — have an attorney review the sender's actual registration and the strength of their claim first.

A large share of cease and desist letters overstate what the sender is legally entitled to. A measured, attorney-drafted response resolves most of these without further escalation.

What is a trademark opposition?

An opposition is filed during the 30-day publication window before registration, arguing that a pending mark shouldn't be allowed to register.

Like a cancellation, it's handled by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and can end in settlement, default, or a full hearing on the merits.