The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has published a proposed rule to raise existing trademark fees, as well as to implement a number of new fees.
Given the proposed new fees and fee increases, it’s a good idea to file trademark registration applications this year, as well as to pay maintenance fees if you’re eligible to do so.
Applications
The paper application fee is proposed to increase from $750 to $850 per class, while the electronic “base” application fee will be $350 per class. The former TEAS Plus application and TEAS standard application, currently $250 and $350 per class respectively, are both proposed to be discontinued.
Currently, if you provide “insufficient information” on a trademark application, there is no fee, but the PTO is now proposing a surcharge of $100 per class on such applications.
It’s also proposing a fee of $200 per class for using the free-form text field (rather than pre-approved descriptions), to identify the goods and/or services the mark is used with. If you input more than 1000 characters into the free-form text field, a fee of $200 per class for each extra 1000 characters will be imposed.
Intent-to-Use Filings
An increase from $100 to $150 per class is proposed for electronic amendments to allege use of a mark for which an intent-to-use application was filed. Similarly, the PTO proposes raising the cost of an electronic Statement of Use filing from $100 to $150. In both cases, the proposed increase for paper filings is to $250 from $200.
Maintenance Filings
The cost of maintenance filings will also go up if the proposed price increases take effect. Electronic renewals will be $350 per class, up from $300, while paper renewals will go up to $550 per class from $500.
Electronic Section 8 declaration-of-use filings will increase from $225 to $300, and electronic Section 15 declaration-of-incontestability filings will go up from $200 to $250. Paper Section 8 filings will increase to $400 from $325, while Section 15 declaration filings will increase to $350 from $300.
Letters of Protest and Petitions
The fees for filing letters of protest and petitions will go up dramatically, with a proposed increase to $150 from $50 for a letter of protest.
The PTO is proposing an increase to $400 from $250 for an electronic petition to the Director, and to $500 from $350 for a paper petition to the Director, as well as an increase to $250 from $150 for an electronic petition to revive an application and an increase to $350 from $250 for a paper petition to revive an application.
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While the above discussion covers most of the proposed fee increases, you can review the proposed rule for more information.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the above or if you need assistance with choosing, registering, or protecting your marks.
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash
