Coming Soon to the USPTO Near You: Higher Trademark Application Fees
In May 2023, the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a proposal to increase some existing trademark filing fees and introduce new fees. The USPTO pointed to inflation and rising costs internal to the USPTO as driving the need to generate additional revenue through new fees and fee increases. The new and increased fees are expected to be effective November 1, 2024 following a public comment period on the USPTO proposal.
The proposed fee changes our clients care most about impact: (1) filing fees for new trademark applications, (2) Intent to Use fees, (3) trademark maintenance fees, and (4) trademark renewal fees.
NEW APPLICATION FILING FEE INCREASES
Currently, the fee to file a new trademark application is $250 per international class. The USPTO proposes to increase this fee by $100 per class, or $350* per class. That means if you intend to file a new trademark application for 2 classes, the fee on November 1, 2024 will be $700 instead of $500. Additionally, the USPTO has proposed an additional $100 fee for any descriptions of goods or services in new trademark applications longer than 1,000 characters.
*Currently there are 2 filing fee options for new trademark applications: (1) $250 filing fee for applications when goods and services are selected from the USPTO’s own drop down menu of acceptable descriptions and (2) $350 filing fee for applications when goods and services are entered manually by the applicant. It is our practice at Audette Law to always manually enter the goods and services identifications in new trademark applications and so this fee change will not impact our clients.
INTENT TO USE FILING FEE INCREASES
The USPTO has proposed to double the filing fee to file a Statement of Use (SOU) in support of a new trademark application filed on an “Intent to Use” basis. When a new trademark application is filed on an “Intent to Use” basis, the applicant must file a Statement of Use showing how the applicant is using the mark in commerce within 6 months after the examining attorney issues a Notice of Allowance. A Notice of Allowance means that the examining attorney has reviewed the new trademark application and intends to register the mark provided that the applicant submits proper evidence of use of the mark in commerce. If the Notice of Allowance issues and the applicant still has not used the mark in commerce, the applicant may request an extension of time to submit the Statement of Use.
The current fee to file a Statement of Use is $100. The USPTO has proposed to increase this fee to $200. The current fee for an extension of time to file a Statement of Use is $125 per class for each of up to 5 extension requests. Under the USPTO’s new fee proposal, the $125 fee for extension requests 1, 2, and 3 would stay the same. However, if the applicant needs a 4th or 5th extension, the fee will jump to $250 per class for each extension request.
MAINTENANCE AND RENEWAL FEE INCREASES
You know how I say that trademark registration isn’t set it and forget it? Here’s why. After you receive your trademark registration, you (trademark owner) are required to file a declaration of use between the 5th and 6th years of registration to keep your trademark registration active. (Concurrently with your 6th year Declaration of Use you also should file a Declaration of Incontestability, but I digress.) The current fee for filing both the Declaration of Use and Incontestability is $425. The USPTO has proposed to increase the fee by $125 to $550.
In addition to the 6th year Declaration of Use and Incontestability, trademark owners must renew their trademark registration(s) before the 10th anniversary of the initial registration, and every 10 years after that (repeat, repeat, repeat) to ensure the registration remains active. Currently, the 10th year renewal fee is $525 per class. The USPTO has proposed to increase those fees by $125 or to $650 per class.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
Although the USPTO’s proposed fee increases must still go through the public comment period and may change before November 1, 2024, it is a safe bet that at least some fees will go up. We think it is smart + proactive to consider filing your trademark applications now to take advantage of the current (lower) fees.
For more information regarding trademark filing fees, see the USPTO fee schedule here.