US Trademark Registration
Decide on the right scope of protection for your brand name and logo before you enter the US market. Work through the search, the filing basis and the USPTO process with MarcaWorld, and see the representation and fee items your application will involve from the outset.
US trademark registration · from 700 €1 class · service fee + estimated USPTO fee · see the details ↓A free attorney check and filing for your brand
Share your mark and target goods or services, and we will check the risk of an obstacle before the USPTO, the right filing basis and the class plan free of charge. You decide whether to proceed to filing once you have seen the result.
Application details
Step 1 / 2Two short steps. We do not ask for a passport or identity document at this stage.
Who needs a US trademark registration?
In the situations below, postponing protection is the expensive option. Each scenario can call for a different scope and filing basis.
Brands selling into the US
Companies shipping to the US through their own store or a distributor. Planning protection before sales begin reduces the risk of someone else registering the name.
Amazon and marketplace sellers
Marketplace brand programmes require an eligible application or registration. Platform requirements are separate from the office filing and need reviewing on their own terms.
Software and service providers
Companies selling subscriptions or services to US customers. A service mark application is built on a description of services rather than goods.
Manufacturers and suppliers
Firms producing for US buyers or supplying private-label goods. Trademark ownership should line up with the contracting parties in your agreements.
Startups with funding plans
Trademark rights form their own item in investor due diligence. Choosing the right filing basis early prevents problems at the statement-of-use stage.
Owners of registrations elsewhere
Section 44(e) may be available to holders of a qualifying foreign registration — this does not mean every foreign registration converts into a US one automatically.
Use-based filings versus intent-to-use filings
This is the most distinctive part of the US system. Your filing basis determines which evidence you submit, when registration becomes possible, and which costs arise later. Tap a card for the detail.
Filing based on use in commerce
On this basis the mark must already be in actual use in US commerce for the relevant goods or services on the filing date. A specimen showing that use is submitted with the application. Where genuine use exists, this is the shortest route to registration, because no separate statement-of-use stage follows.
Filing based on a bona fide intent to use
If the mark is not yet used in US commerce, an application can be filed on the basis of a bona fide intent to use it. On this route registration does not follow examination directly: an acceptable statement of use must be filed at the appropriate stage. That is why total cost on a 1(b) file is never limited to the initial official fee.
Filing based on a foreign registration
Section 44(e) may be considered for holders of a qualifying foreign registration. This route can allow registration even without use in the US yet — but the foreign registration must come from an eligible country and cover an appropriate scope. The goods and services list is rewritten to meet US practice.
Priority claim
Section 44(d) is used to claim priority from an earlier foreign application. It is a request about the effective filing date, not a basis for registration on its own. A file opened with a 44(d) claim still needs an appropriate registration basis — for example 1(a), 1(b) or 44(e).
Attorney representation for applicants outside the US
This is the most misunderstood part of the US process. The representation requirement is not the same thing as a requirement to form a company.
USPTO searches and preparing the goods and services list
The absence of an identical name in the database does not mean registration is assured. We treat these as two separate exercises.
Identical-name search
A check for an identical sign in the database. It gives a quick first read but is not enough on its own to base a decision on.
Similarity assessment
An assessment of visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity alongside whether the goods and services are related. Likelihood of confusion emerges from this analysis.
Goods and services list
The list is written from what you actually sell and the services you actually provide. An unnecessarily broad list raises both the official fee and the risk of refusal or opposition.
Name and logo
A word mark and a logo give different scopes of protection. Whether to protect one or both is planned around how you actually use the mark.
Filing fees and costs that can arise later
In the table below, official fees and service fees sit on separate lines. We do not present the official fee as a total service price, and we do not assume file-specific items are zero.
The US, Canada, the European Union and the Madrid route
If you are considering protection in more than one market, the coverage, cost structure and requirements differ markedly. Click a column heading to open that page.
Documents and information
Whether the applicant is an individual or a company, whether the mark is in use, and which basis is chosen — the documents requested follow from these.
The process: from filing to registration
Filing an application and obtaining a registration are separate stages. Timelines depend on the office’s current workload and how the file develops.
- 1Assessment and strategyWe review the mark, its use status and the target goods and services, then set the filing basis and class plan.
- 2Search and list preparationIdentical and similar signs are assessed, and the goods and services list is drafted to meet US practice.
- 3Filing the applicationThe file is submitted electronically to the USPTO and a serial number is issued. A serial number is not a registration certificate.
- 4ExaminationAn examining attorney reviews formal requirements and earlier rights. An office action may issue and must be answered within the set period.
- 5Publication and third-party oppositionThe application is published, and third parties may oppose within the period provided by law.
- 6Statement of use or registrationOn a Section 1(b) file, a statement of use is filed at the appropriate stage. Once requirements are met, the registration certificate issues.
After registration: use filings and renewal schedule
A US registration is not protected indefinitely without maintenance. Missing the periods below can put the right itself at risk.
Declaration of use
Use must be declared in this window for the registration to continue. Goods and services no longer used may need to be deleted.
Maintenance and renewal
In this window the use declaration and the renewal are handled together.
Subsequent periods
The registration is maintained through the relevant filings in each following ten-year period.
Watching
Monitoring similar applications is a separate service; a registration does not watch the register for you.
How Amazon Brand Registry relates to trademark registration
Amazon’s brand programme runs on its own requirements and calls for an eligible application or registration plus brand verification. Having filed with the USPTO does not amount to automatic acceptance into Brand Registry; the platform makes its own assessment against its own criteria. A marketplace programme and a trademark right are not substitutes for one another: programme access is a commercial service, while the trademark right arises before the office.