Trademark Cost Calculator: Estimating TM App and Office Action Filing Costs

How to Use This Trademark Cost Calculator

Trademark costs can be a bit confusing. This trademark cost calculator is meant to provide some guidance and transparency.

Need a flat rate trademark filing? Contact US patent and trademark attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com to request a flat rate estimate.

Step-By-Step Guide for Estimating Trademark Filing Costs.

To make the best use of this trademark cost calculator, answer these basic questions upfront:

1. What are your Goods and/or Services?
2. Trademark Search?
3. Use-based or Intent-To-Use?

Step 1: Identify Your Goods and/or Services

The USPTO charges trademark filing fees per class of goods or services. Currently, the USPTO initial filing fees are $550 per class. If preapproved descriptions are taken from the USPTO Trademark Identification Manual, the USPTO fee is reduced to $350 per class.

Step 2: Trademark Search?

We recommend a trademark knockout search which helps reduce the risk of a likelihood of confusion rejection. Our knockout searches do not cover any unregistered common law uses, but only live USPTO trademark filings. This is intentional since USPTO trademark examining attorneys do not search common law trademarks.

Unless you already own a prior registration for a similar mark, a knockout search is a worthwhile investment not only for trademark filing purposes, but also for all your potential costs in building a brand. In some cases, you might even decide to pivot to a new trademark thereby saving months of time and potentially thousands of dollars.

Step 3: Have You Used Your Trademark?

This is a potential trap for the unwary. Many do-it-yourself filers will base their trademark application on use when, in fact, their mark has not been adequately used on the identified goods or services.

A trademark application must be accurately based on either actual use or Intent-To-Use (ITU). When based on actual use, you must submit specimens of use and dates of first use in the initial filing of your trademark application.

When filing an ITU trademark application, you need not submit any specimens or dates of first use with the initial filing.

How the Number of Classes of Goods/Services Affect Trademark Filing Costs

Just like the USPTO, our firm charges a flat fee per class of goods or services. For example, a trademark application covering two classes of goods will cost twice as much as an application for a single class.

For the remainder of this post, costs will be provided for a single class of goods or services. If you have multiple classes, simply multiply the cost estimates by the number of classes covering your goods or services.

USPTO fees are included in all cost estimates below.

Use-Based Trademark Application – No Knockout Search

Here are start-to-finish cost estimates for a use-based trademark application without a trademark search, including USPTO fees:

• No refusals (ID Manual): $1,100 per class
• No refusals (customized descriptions): $1,300 per class
• 1 Office Action refusal: starting at $4,800 per refusal

Use-Based Trademark Application With a Knockout Search (Recommended)

Here are start-to-finish cost estimates for a use-based trademark application with a trademark knockout search, including USPTO fees:

• No refusals (ID Manual): $2,000 per class
• No refusals (customized descriptions): $2,200 per class
• 1 Office Action refusal: starting at $5,700 per class

Intent-To-Use Trademark Application – No Knockout Search

Here are start-to-finish cost estimates for an Intent-To-Use application without a trademark search. The estimates below include the required Statement of Use and USPTO fees:

• No refusals (ID Manual): $1,800 per class
• No refusals (customized descriptions): $2,000 per class
• 1 Office Action refusal: starting at $5,500 per refusal

Intent-To-Use Trademark Application With a Knockout Search (Recommended)

Here are start-to-finish cost estimates for an Intent-To-Use application with a trademark search. The estimates below include the required Statement of Use and USPTO fees:

• No refusals (ID Manual): $2,700 per class
• No refusals (customized descriptions): $2,900 per class
• 1 Office Action refusal: starting at $6,400 per refusal

Trademark Office Action Costs

Cost estimates for responding to trademark Office Actions will largely depend upon whether the issues are nonsubstantive or substantive.

Nonsubstantive Trademark Office Action Issues

Nonsubstantive issues are minor and fairly straightforward to resolve. Examples of nonsubstantive issues include:

• amendments to identification of goods or services
• description of mark (common in design mark applications)
• designation of US-licensed attorney
• type of entity of applicant
• request for information regarding goods or services
• email address required
• requested disclaimer – if you agree to disclaim (see below)
• partial likelihood of confusion refusal – if you delete rejected goods/services (see below)

The following issues are on the border between nonsubstantive and substantive, depending upon whether you wish to argue against them.

Here are estimated costs for responding to nonsubstantive issues:

• $500 for the first class of goods or services, plus
• $250 for each additional class beyond the first class (multi-class applications).

We can provide substantial discounts or even fee waivers for nonsubstantive issues if our firm filed your trademark application.

Substantive Trademark Office Action Issues

Substantive issues, on the other hand, can be quite complex. Office Action responses to substantive issues often require well-written legal arguments. For example, the following refusals would be considered substantive:

• likelihood of confusion refusal – Section 2(d)
• merely descriptive refusal – Section 2(e)
• failure to function refusal – Section 2(e)

Estimated costs for responding to substantive issues start at $3,500 per issue.

Trademark Issues that Vary Between Nonsubstantive and Substantive

The following issues are on the border between nonsubstantive and substantive, depending upon whether you wish to argue against them. By making concessions and waiving arguments, these issues would be nonsubstantive:

• required disclaimer of certain words
• partial likelihood of confusion refusal applied to only a subset of goods or services (which can be deleted)

You do have the option to argue against the above issues, which will substantially raise costs to the above substantive estimates.

Need Filing Cost Estimates for a Trademark Application or Office Action?

Contact US patent and trademark attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com to request a flat rate quote for your trademark filing needs.