How Much Does a Trademark Attorney Cost: Cost to Hire a Trademark Lawyer

A trademark application is a complex legal process, and you may want to hire a trademark attorney for this job. Indeed, it is the best solution to avoid extra expenses and fees, especially when you're registering abroad. But what is the final cost when you hire a trademark attorney? How to prepare yourself? See how to register a trademark with professional help and how much it costs. 

What Services Are Provided by the Trademark Attorney: Cost to Hire by Services

First of all, what are potential trademark services? The trademark attorney charges differ depending on what you particularly need. An attorney can help with research, conduct a trademark registration, or you may even ask the attorney to help with opposition, to evaluate your brand or to help you sell it. See below what trademark registration services are required to register a new brand. 

Trademark Search

Before applying, you may need a comprehensive trademark search. Why? The thing is that you don't know if there are similar trademarks or logos in the country of your interest. Applying with a trademark, too similar to an existing one, may cause opposition and . As a result, you spend months trying to find a unique TM. 

For their part, lawyers conduct a comprehensive trademark search. Experts at Bonamark® use several trademark electronic search systems both paid and free. There, the lawyers can see all the existing marks and your potential rivals. This way, you can prepare to file a new trademark application with no controversial elements. As a result – the trademark application is filed correctly, and you quickly receive approval from the USPTO. This additional cost to file may save you a lot of money in the future.

Documents Preparation

Trademark applicants should also carefully prepare their documentation. For instance, in the USA, you'll need to file a universal application form containing the following details:

• your name and address;
• information about your business type or nationality;
• your trademark logos, symbols, and other visual and sound elements;
• classes of goods and services you provide;
• list of all products/services you want to protect;
• proof of priority if you have one, and so on.

Ask your trademark attorney to handle these papers. This is especially true for an international trademark filing, where the number and difficulty of papers may be even more overwhelming. You may also need a professional and licensed translator for that procedure if you filed based on a foreign trademark. 

Trademark Registration

Finally, you have to send your papers to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This authority will decide your TM's destiny – whether to approve it or not. Since that is a stressful and time-consuming task, an attorney can help with the procedure. The lawyer will conduct the whole process, and you'll only need to sign the papers. 

Trademark Maintenance and Monitoring

The trademark registration process is not everything. After that, you may need a professional attorney to maintain your trademark. It means that the expert will examine if anyone except for the trademark owner utilizes the intellectual property. It includes several cases:

• if someone illegally uses your trademark for their products; 
• if there are brands and logos copying your trademark's distinctive elements;
• detecting unauthorized usage of your trademark (for example, in domains, social media accounts, etc)

Ask your attorney to review all possible cases, and you'll prevent fraud and see the early signs of trademark theft.

Trademark Renewal

Finally, ten years after you register your trademark, there is a new requirement to legally renew it. This is an easy procedure, so any delays or mistakes can be crucial. The attorney knows the fee to file a renewal, what papers are needed, and what is the perfect timeframe for that. Hiring an expert, you prevent additional fees and a lot of mistakes in the future.

Understanding the Cost of Hiring and Fees: What Makes a Trademark Cost

Let's take a broader view of this issue. When you hire an attorney, there are other expenses – first of all, fees. So, let's break it down. There are legal fees and there are official (government) fees. The legal fees are what you pay to a person, not to a government or the USPTO. Please see below a list of some fees associated with your mark.

1. Flat filing fee. These are fixed  attorney fees for a service provided by your lawyer. You should discuss this issue before hiring them. Some attorneys can charge per hour, but usually the filing fees are fixed.
2. Government Filing fee. This is the government fee requested by the USPTO (in the US) or other local authorities in your country. Generally, government  fees for application depend on two factors: the number of classes in your application and the application method. In the USA, for example, using the certain forms results in lower fees, for example, TEAS PLUS is 250$ per class while TEAS RF is 350$ per class.
3. Renewal trademark fees. You pay the fee  to renew the TM.
4. Fees, charged for delays. Finally, if you miss the deadline to renew your trademark or to submit a declaration of continued use, you have to pay an extra fee as well.

Here is the key difference – while the legal fee is the money you pay to the lawyer, all the government fees are given to the government. Unlike the attorney's total cost, these taxes are fixed and obligatory. 

Factors Contributing to a Trademark Lawyer Cost

So, how much does it cost to hire a professional attorney? The cost varies depending on several circumstances: 

• Potential conflicts. If your trademark is similar to an existing one, the attorney must conduct a deep search. Also, they must prepare to negotiate all possible objections from your rivals or previous trademark owners. Sure, it is a time-consuming task, and you should keep in ming that there might be extra commissions for that.
• USPTO objections. This is an issue no one can expect. If the office declines your application, the trademark application process becomes much more difficult and time-consuming. The proposed trademark application has to be amended, which leads to additional fees.
• Applying in different countries. You may file your trademark application in several countries at once or use the Madrid System to register in up to 120 countries at the same time. Nonetheless, such a trademark process is much more difficult. 

The trademark application fees  also depend on the attorney's experience and reputation. The more reputable the attorney is, the higher the price will be. Before entrusting your federal trademark to a third-party person, you should be examining attorney experiences, reviews, and previous fields of work and research.