Trademark Attorney

If you are domiciled in the United States or its territories, you can file through USPTO.gov without a lawyer; applicants domiciled elsewhere, including in Canada, must be represented by a US-licensed attorney. The issue is what happens when something goes wrong: an Office action must be answered within the period it sets, or the application is abandoned (37 C.F.R. §§ 2.62(a), 2.65(a)). Professional filing costs more upfront. We recommend weighing that cost against the cost of mistakes, abandonment, or rebranding after a conflict surfaces.

USPTO base fees for electronic applications under Sections 1 and 44 are US$350 per class. For reference, CIPO fees in Canada start at CAD $491.06 for the first class when filed online in 2026. Our legal fee for a straightforward single-class US application is $2,995 (Brand Locked), plus the USPTO filing fee. Multi-class, multi-country, or contested applications cost more. I quote clearly before any work begins. Additional government fees may apply.

At the USPTO, an application for the Principal Register is examined and, if approved, published for opposition before it can register. For fiscal year 2024–2025, CIPO published an average turnaround time of 34.5 months for trademark registrations. You can use ™ at any time, including before you file. ® comes after registration is confirmed.

Yes. I hold bar admissions in California, Ontario, and Quebec. I file US and Canadian trademark applications; Canadian examiner's reports, oppositions, and section 45 proceedings are handled through a licensed Canadian trademark agent. For clients who operate in both markets, that keeps the filing strategy consistent.

™ signals that you are claiming trademark rights in a mark. You can use it whenever you use the mark, whether or not you have filed an application or registered the mark. In the US, ® indicates registration with the USPTO, and the USPTO states that ® may be used only with the mark for the goods or services listed in the federal registration. Under the USPTO's examination manual (TMEP § 906.04), improper use of ® that is deliberate and intended to deceive or mislead the public or the USPTO is fraud, although an examining attorney may not refuse registration on that ground. Once registration is confirmed, you switch from ™ to ®.

An office action is a formal letter from the USPTO examiner explaining why your application cannot proceed as filed. Common reasons include likelihood of confusion with an existing mark, a description of goods and services that is too broad, or a mark that is considered merely descriptive. Most office actions must be answered within three months, with an optional three-month extension requested on time for a fee. Madrid applications under Section 66(a) generally allow six months without extension. Missing the deadline abandons the application; reviving it requires a timely petition stating the delay was unintentional.

A clearance search goes beyond typing your brand name into the USPTO Trademark Search system. A thorough search covers federal registrations, state registrations, common-law uses, domain names, and social media handles. I use professional search tools and legal judgment to assess conflict risk: not just whether a name is registered, but whether a similar name in a related industry creates legal exposure before you invest in the brand.

In the US, trademark rights are built on first use in commerce. Registration on the Principal Register adds legal presumptions: the certificate is prima facie evidence of the registrant's ownership of the mark and exclusive right to use it for the listed goods or services. In Canada, registration gives the owner the exclusive right to use the trademark throughout Canada for the registered goods or services, unless the registration is shown to be invalid, while unregistered marks may also be protected through use. Canadian applications may be filed in English or French; a bilingual goods-and-services description is not required. I assist with US and Canadian trademark matters. CIPO's trademark guide is the authoritative Canadian reference.

The outcome depends on timing and prior use. If you have been using the mark in commerce since before the other party filed, you may have priority: in the US, rights are established by use, even without registration, and if a later applicant's mark registers on the Principal Register, its filing date counts as nationwide constructive use of the mark for the registered goods or services, except against anyone who has not abandoned their mark and who, before that date, had used it, had filed a US application for it that is pending or registered, or had filed a foreign application giving a right of priority and then timely filed a US application that is pending or registered (15 U.S.C. § 1057(c)). You may be able to oppose the application within 30 days after it is published. This is time-sensitive. If you find that someone has filed on your brand, we recommend contacting an attorney immediately.

With or without a registration, you can act against confusingly similar uses through a cease-and-desist letter or a federal lawsuit under the Lanham Act, and against a confusingly similar application or registration through a TTAB opposition or cancellation: Section 43(a) (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)) applies whether or not a mark is registered, and a Principal Register registration adds a claim for infringement of a registered mark under Section 32 (15 U.S.C. § 1114). Registration on the Principal Register is prima facie evidence of your ownership of the mark and your exclusive right to use it for the registered goods or services (15 U.S.C. § 1057(b)), and the registration itself is constructive notice of your claim of ownership (15 U.S.C. § 1072). Displaying ® gives notice that the mark is registered; without that notice or the statutory wording, profits and damages cannot be recovered in an infringement suit unless the defendant had actual notice of the registration (15 U.S.C. § 1111). Registration does not prevent infringement.