Description

This includes a consultation; a preliminary search (but not a full, in-depth clearance), and a use-based registration of your trademark in one class.  This means you’re using your trademark already, in one field, or “class” (which is quite narrow in trademark parlance.)  Additional classes are $500 each, plus additional filing fees.

We’ll prepare and file your application, and respond to non-substantive actions from the USPTO.  In other words, we’ll submit the application, and then if the USPTO wants us a to make a minor change, we’ll handle those.  If someone objects to your registration, or there’s some other substantive response the USPTO wants us to provide, that’s subject to a separate and additional fee.

It’s important to know at the outset that we can’t guarantee your mark will get registered in the end, as that’s ultimately up to the USPTO.  Our prices include legal fees, and USPTO fees will be charged separately.  We collect a $5000 deposit to cover these, and depending on what we decide in our initial consultation (and largely how many categories you’d like to register your mark in), fees may be more or less.  Any portion of the deposit not spent on USPTO fees or covering additional legal fees will be returned to you on completion of our work.

If you’re registering a mark you haven’t yet started using out in the world, then an intent-to-use registration is the route to go.

Trademark Searches: Knockout vs. Clearance

In trademark practice, the distinction between these searches is primarily one of scope and timing. In most cases, a preliminary “knockout” search is sufficient at this stage, which is why it is included in our package; a “clearance” search costs extra. If a more comprehensive clearance search becomes advisable for your mark, we will recommend it, and you are also welcome to request one at any time.

Knockout search.  A knockout search is a high-level, preliminary screening done early in the process to quickly determine whether a mark is likely dead on arrival. It typically looks for obvious, identical, or near-identical conflicts in the USPTO database (and sometimes common-law sources) that would clearly block registration. The goal is efficiency: to “knock out” bad candidates before spending time or money on deeper analysis.

Clearance search.  A clearance search is a comprehensive, risk-assessment search conducted once a mark has passed the knockout stage. It looks beyond identical matches to include similar-sounding marks, similar meanings, related goods and services, common-law uses, domain names, business names, and sometimes international databases. The goal is not just registrability, but assessing infringement risk and overall brand safety before adoption and registration.

In short:
• A knockout search answers: “Is there an obvious reason this mark won’t work at all?”
• A clearance search answers: “How risky is it to use and register this mark in the real world?”