On November 18, 2024, the USPTO issued a final rule to increase certain trademark filing fees. The fees will take effect January 18, 2025.
While the per Class fee for filing a standard electronic trademark application has not changed and is still $350 per Class, the USPTO has eliminated the distinction between TEAS Standard and TEAS Plus applications, and instead added additional fees for insufficient information and/or complex applications.
Significantly, the USPTO will now charge $100 per class when an applicant provides "insufficient information" in an initial application, including but not limited to failing to include a translation statement, the applicant's domicile address, the citizenship of each individual applicant, or the state or country of incorporation or organization of each juristic applicant, the names and citizenship of the general partners in a domestic partnership or members of a joint venture, or a written mark description for all logos.
Even more significantly, the USPTO will charge $200 per class when an applicant creates a "free form" identification (i.e., chooses its own goods or services identification as opposed to using language directly from the identification manual). This effectively raises the fee for a standard application from $350 to $550. Additionally, there will be a $200 surcharge for every 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 characters if applicants choose to enter "free form" identifications. For foreign applicants, filings via WIPO (i.e., the Madrid Protocol) have increased by $100 per Class.
Finally, there will also be increases in the ongoing maintenance fees for trademark registrants in relation to the costs for Sections 8 (ongoing use), 9 (renewal), 15 (incontestability), and 71 (foreign renewal). Registrants currently in the filing window may want to consider completing these filings before the new fees take effect.
A summary of some of the notable changes appear below, but we are always happy to assist with analyzing how these new fees may impact your filing strategy and yearly budgeting.
| Fee category | Description | Current fee | Final rule fee | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Base application, per class | $350 | $350 | n/a |
| Fee for using the free-form text box to enter the identification of goods/services, per class | n/a | $200 | $200 | |
| For each additional group of 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 (§§1 and 44), per class | n/a | $200 | $200 | |
| Fee for insufficient information (§§1 and 44), per class | n/a | $100 | $100 | |
| Incoming Foreign Application | Application fee filed with WIPO (§66(a)), per class | $500 | $600 | $100 |
| Subsequent designation fee filed with WIPO (§66(a)), per class | $500 | $600 | $100 | |
| Intent to use/Use fees | Amendment to allege use (AAU), per class | $100 | $150 | $50 |
| Intent to use/Use fees | Statement of use (SOU), per class | $100 | $150 | $50 |
| Trademark processing fees | Petition to the Director | $250 | $400 | $150 |
| Trademark processing fees | Petition to revive an application | $150 | $250 | $100 |
| Trademark processing fees | Letter of protest | $50 | $150 | $100 |
| Post-registration maintenance fees | §9 registration renewal application, per class | $300 | $325 | $25 |
| Post-registration maintenance fees | §8 declaration, per class | $225 | $325 | $100 |
| Post-registration maintenance fees | §15 declaration, per class | $200 | $250 | $50 |
| Madrid Protocol fees | §71 declaration, per class | $225 | $325 | $100 |
| Other trademark fees | Renewal fee filed at WIPO | $300 | $325 | $25 |
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
