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Blog

USPTO Increases Fees for Trademarks

Sean Clancy

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be increasing fees for various trademark matters. The USPTO’s website provides the full rundown.

Key Changes to Know

  • Initial Application Fees: The cost of filing a trademark application will be increasing, especially if you use a custom description of your goods/services or if the description exceeds 1000 characters.

  • Renewal Fees: It will cost more to renew an existing federal trademark registration, with significant increases for most maintenance filings.

  • Letter of Protest: The fee for filing a letter of protest will triple to $150. This tool helps challenge other people’s trademark applications and can be a cost-effective way to defend your own trademark.

When Will the New Fees Start?

  • These new fees are expected to take effect sometime during the 2025 fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2024. However, the exact start date is not yet finalized.

  • The USPTO released its proposed fee changes in March 2024, and we expect a gap of several months between finalizing the rules and implementing the new fees.

Impact on Trademark Filing Costs

  • Custom Descriptions: If you don’t use the standard pre-approved descriptions (from the ID Manual), you will pay a $200 surcharge per class. This can raise the cost of filing to $550 per class.

  • Lengthy Descriptions: If your description exceeds 1000 characters per class, expect to pay an additional $200 for every 1000-character block. A long description could cost you up to $1350 per class.

Other Fee Increases

  • Proof of Use: The cost to prove you are using your trademark after filing will increase. Filing a Statement of Use or an Amendment to Allege Use will rise to $150 per class, making Intent-to-Use applications more expensive.

  • Maintenance Costs: The cost to maintain your trademark (such as Section 8 and Section 9 filings) will rise significantly. The combined cost for 10-year renewals will be $650 per class, up from $525.

The USPTO filing system with its various fees and surcharges tends to get more complicated, not simpler, every year.