Your company name, product names and logo are often among your most valuable assets, and one of the easiest to lose track of. Diligence regularly turns up marks that were never registered, are owned by a founder instead of the company, or quietly lapsed.
Registering a US trademark
- Applications are filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), per class of goods or services.
- Since January 18, 2025, the base application fee is $350 per class.1
- Surcharges apply for incomplete information ($100 per class), custom descriptions of goods and services ($200 per class), and each additional 1,000 characters of description beyond the first 1,000 ($200 per class).1
Keeping it alive
- A Section 8 declaration, confirming the mark is still in use, is due between the 5th and 6th year after registration. The fee is $325 per class.1
- Registrations must be renewed every 10 years (Section 9, $325 per class).1
- Miss these filings and the registration is cancelled.
Common problems diligence finds
- The mark is registered to a founder or an old entity, not the company.
- The registration lapsed because a maintenance filing was missed.
- A similar mark was registered by someone else first.
- The company uses its brand in classes the registration does not cover.
What to have ready
- A list of every mark, registration number, owner, class and next deadline.
- Assignments into the company for any mark filed by a founder.
You can look up any US mark's status in the USPTO's search system.2