File it as if you mean to keep it.

Rights that run nationwide

A registration on the Principal Register is presumed to give you the exclusive right to use the mark throughout the United States for the goods and services listed in it. Common-law rights, from use alone, are often narrower than that, and harder to prove.

A record that you own it

The registration is evidence that the mark is yours. That matters in a dispute, whether it stays in correspondence or ends up in court.

Notice, before a conflict starts

The record is public. Someone choosing a name can find yours. An examining attorney at the USPTO searches the same database and can refuse a later application for a mark that comes too close.

A stop at the border

You may record the registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs uses that record against infringing and counterfeit goods offered for import.

A federal forum

A registered mark may be enforced in federal court. The registration does not police itself. Watching the market, and acting when someone copies you, remains your responsibility.

A basis for filing abroad

A U.S. registration can support applications in many other countries, which is useful once the business actually trades there.

The circled R

Only a mark that is federally registered may use ®. The symbol tells the market the name is registered, and that the claim is not merely a hope.

A longer note on these rights is in our trademark basics, if you want the fuller account before you decide.

1. 01

   You, and the mark

   We start with your name, a way to reach you, and the word, phrase, or logo you want to register.

2. 02

   Who owns it

   The application has to name the owner: you, a company, or someone else. Getting that wrong is an expensive way to begin.

3. 03

   What it covers

   We settle whether the mark is a word, a logo, or both, and we write the list of goods or services. That list is the scope of the registration.

4. 04

   A plan, then payment

   You choose Bronze, Silver, or Gold. The attorney fee and the USPTO fee for the first class are collected then. Nothing is filed before that.

5. 05

   A knockout search

   We look for marks already on the register that would obviously block yours, and we tell you what the search found before a draft is prepared.

6. 06

   The draft, and your signature

   We prepare the application. You read it and sign the declaration the USPTO requires. You should recognize every fact in it.

7. 07

   Filing, and what follows

   We file with the USPTO and remain counsel while the application is examined. If the Office writes, we tell you, and we handle what your plan covers.