Budget Estimator for Trademarks

Many of our clients have asked for a way of estimating what costs and time periods to expect when registering a trademark. This estimator should serve as a guide, and is as good an estimate as we can prepare, but you should realize that the fees you will actually pay may vary widely from these, depending on the individual circumstances of your mark. You can expect trademark applications to take around 1-3 years between application and registration, if all goes well.

Legal fees will vary based on the time expended, which will depend on the complexity of the task at hand, etc. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) and New York State fees listed here are correct as of January 28, 2019, but can be expected to change (increase) over time. A complete list of Trademark Office fees is available here. A complete copy of the USPTO's fee schedule is also available from their website.

Finally, of course, there is no guarantee as to the number of times which we may need to respond to the PTO, or if it may become necessary to appeal a rejection, or if your application will ever be registered at all.


 


Madrid Protocol Applications

There are three components to the total cost for filing a Madrid Protocol application: (1) our fee for preparing and filing the application; (2) the USPTO fee; and (3) International Fees. These fees are:

1. Our fee for preparing and filing a Madrid Protocol application in the USPTO is $900, which includes one class of goods/services. Additional classes cost $100 per class.

2.  USPTO service fees are $100 per class, if the application is based on one US application/registration, or $150 per class if the application is based on more than one US application/registration.

3. International fees depend on which countries are designated, and the characteristics of the mark. These fees are, for a single-class application at the exchange rate current on January 29, 2019, in the range of $730 (black and white mark, least expensive country) to $23,500 (color design mark designating all countries). A schedule of international fees and a fee calculator are available on the WIPO website. Note that because the International Fees must be paid in Swiss Francs at the exchange rate current at the time of filing, it is only possible to give an estimate of fees in advance. 

Once the application is filed, it will be certified by the USPTO, and, if there are any problems found, a response and amendment will need to be filed. The application will then be submitted to each of the designated countries, and objections might be raised by the national trademark offices in one or more of those countries, which will have to be dealt with through local agents in each country. It is not possible to estimate the costs of these responses in the abstract, and with Madrid filing an option for US filers for only a short period of time there is little experience to draw on, but it would appear that a budget of $500-$1,000 or so per country for local agent's fees would not be unrealistic. 

Note for overseas clients: Brown and Michaels can file Madrid Protocol applications in the USPTO only based on prior US national trademark filings, and only for clients who are United States nationals or "have either a real and effective industrial and commercial establishment or a domicile" in the US. Overseas clients need to file Madrid applications in their home countries.  

For more details on the Madrid Protocol, see our Madrid Protocol web page

For a quote on a Madrid Protocol filing, please contact Brown & Michaels


New York State Trademark Registrations

Many states have trademark registration systems. As attorneys admitted to practice in New York State, we can assist you in filing a state trademark application in New York. If you are using a mark only in NY (that is, not in interstate commerce), this may be of some value. You may not use the ® "r in a circle" mark, but the filing does offer notice to those searching the state database.


Other Services are billed at up to $450 per hour, plus expenses, on a time spent basis. We can help you with license agreements, non-disclosure agreements, incorporations, etc.

Patent Fees and Copyright Fees are on separate fee schedules. The current U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official Patent and Trademark fees are also separately listed.


Billing and Fee Policies


Last updated: Tue, 23 Jan 2024