Register Your Trademark Online

Reid IP is a trademark law firm with offices in San Francisco, Boston, Melbourne, and Kraków. Our attorneys are licensed to practice in multiple U.S. jurisdictions and represent clients from all 50 states and internationally. Because trademark registration is a federal process handled through the USPTO, your attorney does not need to be in your state.

Yes. Under current USPTO rules, all foreign-domiciled trademark applicants must be represented by a licensed U.S. attorney. We regularly represent clients from Europe, Asia, Australia, and around the world. The entire process can be handled remotely — no in-person meetings are required.

The full process typically takes 8 to 12 months from filing to registration, assuming no major issues arise. We usually complete the search and file your application within 1–2 weeks of receiving your information. After filing, the USPTO takes approximately 3–4 months to assign an examining attorney, followed by a 30-day publication period. We keep you informed at every stage.

You'll need: the trademark you want to register (name, logo, or slogan), a description of the goods or services you offer under the mark, the date you first used the mark in commerce (if applicable), and your legal name and address. If you're filing as a business entity, you'll also need your entity type and state/country of formation. If you haven't started using the mark yet, you can file an intent-to-use application.

You can use the TM symbol immediately — no registration is required. TM simply indicates that you are claiming rights in a mark. The ® symbol, however, can only be used after your trademark is officially registered with the USPTO. Using ® before registration is illegal and can jeopardize your application.

Yes. You must file a Declaration of Use (Section 8) between the 5th and 6th year after registration, and then a combined Section 8 and Section 9 renewal every 10 years. Missing these deadlines can result in cancellation of your registration. We offer renewal services and can set up reminders so you never miss a deadline.

We conduct a comprehensive multi-layered search that goes far beyond the USPTO's free TESS database. Our search covers: the entire federal trademark register (active and pending applications), state trademark databases across all 50 states, common-law sources including business directories and domain registrations, and internet-wide usage. Our attorney then analyzes phonetic equivalents, visual similarities, and related goods/services to assess your risk of a conflict.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) as well as bank transfers. Payment is collected when you submit your order. The USPTO government filing fee is separate and paid directly to the USPTO at the time of filing.

If you have a business entity (LLC, corporation, etc.) that owns or will own the brand, you should generally file in the entity's name. This ensures the trademark is a business asset and avoids complications if ownership changes. If you're a sole proprietor without a formal entity, filing as an individual is perfectly fine. We'll advise you during your consultation.

Traditional law firms bill by the hour, often at $300–$600/hour, and a typical registration can run $2,000–$5,000 or more. We keep our fees low by using a flat-fee model with streamlined digital processes. You get the same quality legal work — performed by licensed attorneys, not paralegals or automated software — at a fraction of the cost. Our transparent pricing means you know exactly what you'll pay upfront.

Yes, we are available by phone during business hours and happy to speak with you. That said, we find that email is more efficient for most trademark matters because it creates a clear written record and allows our attorneys to provide more thorough, considered responses. You can always schedule a call through our booking page if you prefer a conversation.

An office action is a letter from a USPTO examining attorney identifying issues with your application. A minor (procedural) office action involves straightforward fixes like clarifying your goods/services description, disclaiming a descriptive term, or fixing a filing basis issue. These are included in both our Standard and Comprehensive packages. A major (substantive) office action involves legal refusals — such as likelihood of confusion with an existing mark or a finding that your mark is merely descriptive. These require a legal argument supported by evidence and precedent, and are only included in the Comprehensive package.

If your mark is distinctive (not descriptive of your goods/services) and our search doesn't reveal close conflicts, the Standard package is usually sufficient. If your mark includes common words, describes what you sell, or operates in a crowded space, the Comprehensive package gives you peace of mind — we'll handle any refusal the USPTO throws at you. When in doubt, start with the search-only option and we'll recommend the right package based on your results.

Yes. If you start with the Standard package and later receive a substantive office action you'd like us to handle, you can upgrade by paying the difference. However, we recommend choosing the Comprehensive package upfront if there's any chance of a substantive refusal, as it's more cost-effective than paying for office action responses individually.

If you're on the Standard package and receive a substantive office action, we charge a flat fee of $750 per office action response. This covers the legal research, argument drafting, and filing. Alternatively, you can upgrade to the Comprehensive package by paying the $400 difference, which covers all future office actions on that application.

We generally recommend registering your brand name in plain text (standard characters) first, because this gives you the broadest protection — it covers the name regardless of how it's displayed. If your logo is distinctive and recognizable on its own (like Nike's swoosh), registering it separately can add value. Each registration is a separate application with its own filing fee. We'll advise you during your consultation.

Yes, slogans and taglines can be registered as trademarks, provided they function as source identifiers rather than merely informational phrases. Common phrases like "Best Quality" would be difficult to register, but a distinctive tagline associated with your brand can qualify. Each slogan is filed as a separate trademark application.

Yes, we regularly file trademarks for Amazon sellers. Amazon Brand Registry now accepts pending trademark applications with a serial number, meaning you can enroll shortly after we file your application — you don't have to wait for full registration. We'll provide you with the serial number and filing details you need for your Brand Registry application.

That's exactly what our Search Only package is for. For $350, we conduct a comprehensive search and deliver a written attorney opinion on your mark's availability and registrability. There's no obligation to file afterward. If you later decide to file, you can purchase a Standard or Comprehensive package and we'll credit the search work already performed.

If we haven't yet begun work on your order (search or filing), we offer a full refund. Once our attorney has started the search or drafted the application, the work cannot be undone and fees are non-refundable. USPTO government filing fees are never refundable — this is the USPTO's policy, not ours. We're transparent about this from the start.

Yes. Many businesses need protection in multiple trademark classes — for example, a clothing brand that also sells accessories may need Class 25 (clothing) and Class 18 (bags). Each additional class adds $595 (Standard) or $995 (Comprehensive) to your attorney fee, plus the USPTO filing fee of $250–$350 per class. We'll help you determine which classes are right for your business.

No. Our prices are all-inclusive for the services described. The only additional cost is the USPTO government filing fee ($250–$350 per class), which is paid directly to the USPTO and is clearly disclosed upfront. We don't charge for emails, phone calls, or consultations within the scope of your package.

Trademark monitoring is an ongoing watch service that scans new USPTO filings, state registrations, and domain names for marks that are confusingly similar to yours. Without monitoring, a competitor could file a conflicting mark and you might not find out until it's too late to oppose. We offer monitoring as a separate annual service — see our monitoring page for details.

Yes. We file international trademarks through the Madrid Protocol, which allows you to extend your U.S. trademark to 100+ countries through a single application. We also coordinate direct national filings in countries not covered by the Madrid system. Use our Madrid Protocol Cost Estimator to get an instant estimate for your target countries.

After your trademark is published in the Official Gazette, third parties have 30 days to file an opposition. If this happens, we'll notify you immediately and explain your options. Opposition proceedings are handled through the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and are not included in the standard registration packages, but we offer litigation and enforcement services separately. Many oppositions are resolved through negotiation or coexistence agreements.

Filing services like LegalZoom use questionnaires and software to generate applications — an attorney may review the filing, but they haven't performed a search, analyzed your risk, or crafted a strategy. At Reid IP, a licensed trademark attorney handles your matter from start to finish: conducting the search, advising you on registrability, drafting your application, and responding to office actions. The result is a significantly higher success rate and an attorney who actually knows your case.

Once registered, you can use the ® symbol, enforce your rights against infringers, and use your registration to block infringing imports at U.S. Customs. You'll need to file maintenance documents at the 5-year and 10-year marks to keep your registration active. We also recommend monitoring to catch new conflicting filings early. We'll guide you through all post-registration requirements.