The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has established a new procedure and fee structure for new trademark applications filed on or after January 18, 2025. Under these new procedures, a single based application filing fee of $350, per class, will be charged, with the potential for additional fees to apply based on the complexity and completeness of the application.
If the initial application omits any information required for a complete application, an additional fee of $100, per class, will be imposed. For example, if a mark contains non-English wording and the application fails to include a translation or applicable transliteration, or the mark includes a living individual's name or likeness but the application lacks written consent of the individual, this additional fee would be imposed. In total, the USPTO has identified 20 potentially applicable requirements for a complete application that must be satisfied to avoid this fee. In addition, although application forms will continue to provide a free-form text box into which the descriptions of goods and services to be covered by the application can be directly input, the USPTO is imposing fees to discourage its use, as well as the use of unique lengthy descriptions of goods and services. To encourage use of its online Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual ("Online Manual") as the means to identify and describe the goods and services in the application, the USPTO is imposing a $200, per class, fee if the description of goods and services is typed directly into the free-form text box instead of using the Online Manual. This fee will apply even in cases where the application's goods or services are not accurately or sufficiently described anywhere within the USPTO's Online Manual such that the available descriptions in the Online Manual simply cannot be used. So, in some cases, it simply cannot be avoided. To discourage lengthy descriptions of goods and services, the USPTO is imposing a further fee for using the free-form text box to describe the goods and services, when the description exceeds 1,000 characters. In such a case, an excess character identification fee of $200 for each group of additional 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 characters, in each affected class will be charged. A description containing 1,001 characters would be charged a $200 fee; 2,001 characters would incur a $400 fee. Like the fee for using free-form text box explained above, this fee applies only if the application uses the free-form text box in lieu of selecting the goods and services from the Online Manual. These additional fees relating to the manner in which goods and services included in application are described will apply only to applications filed on a basis of claimed use or intent-to-use. They will not apply to applications based on foreign applications or registrations or requests for extension of protection under the Madrid Protocol. The trademark electronic filing system will assess all filing fees and any applicable additional fees known at the time of filing, which must be paid in order to submit the application. As a result of these changes, additional work and diligence will be needed to avoid the additional fees. When we work with our clients on any new application, we will be using the Online Manual, whenever possible, so as to try to avoid incurring these additional fees. Should you have any questions about the USPTO's new trademark filing requirements and fees, please contact Glenn Bacal ([email protected]) or Sean Garrison ([email protected]) for assistance.
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January 2025
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