Applying for a Trademark

There are several things you should know before applying for a trademark. We’re in the fifth installation of our How to Make Money with Trademarks series. Our first article was How to Make Money with Trademarks.  The second article in our series was What is a Trademark & How to Make Money with Them. In the third article we discussed How to Create a Trademark that Makes Money. In the fourth article, we learned How to Own a Trademark. Now, we’re going to talk about things you should know when applying for a trademark in order to protect your legal rights in the name, logo or slogan you created.

The 3 Types of Federal Trademark Applications

What is the TEAS Plus application?

Generally speaking, you will have the option of using one of three different types of applications when you apply for a federal trademark. The first type of application we will discuss is the TEAS Plus Application. This application is the least expensive application. In fact, the filing fee was recently reduced to $225 (it used to be $275). The reason this application is less expensive is because you have less options when it comes to describing how you will use your mark. For example,  both applications require that you describe the goods and services that you are currently using in association with your mark. However, the TEAS Plus Application only lets you choose from the goods and services that are predefined in the government’s Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual) instead of being able to create your own descriptions as with the TEAS Regular application.

There are also a few other requirements in order to get the discounted rate due to the TEAS Plus application which are:

  1. Your application must be complete when you file it since most of the fields in the TEAS Plus application are considered mandatory.
  2. You have to identify the goods and services associated with your mark using the USPTO’s Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual).
  3. You have to pay for all of the international classes associated with your mark when you file the application.
  4. You must file the application as well as any future responses electronically using TEAS.
  5. You must consent to e-mail communication and submit a working e-mail address.

What is the TEAS Reduced Fee (RF) Application?

The second type of federal trademark application is the TEAS Reduced Fee (RF Application). The TEAS RF is similar to the TEAS PLUS application but has less requirements:

  1. You must file the application as well as any future responses electronically using TEAS.
  2. You must consent to e-mail communication and submit a working e-mail address.

In exchange for meeting these two requirements, the filing fee for the TEAS RF application is only $275. It is a little more than the TEAS PLUS application but not as much as the TEAS Regular.

What is the TEAS Regular application?

The third and final type of federal trademark application is the TEAS Regular application. The TEAS Regular application is the most expensive federal trademark application of the three applications. The filing fee for the TEAS Regular application is $325. The reason this federal trademark application is the most expensive application is because it gives the applicant the most flexibility as it relates to their filing. The TEAS Regular is the most flexible because it allows the applicant to get a filing date and submit an application while meeting the following minimal requirements under 37 C.F.R. §2.21(a):

  • The applicant must include their name and address
  • The applicant must submit a clear drawing of the mark
  • The applicant must list the goods and services associated with the mark
  • The applicant must submit a filing fee for at least one class of goods or services.

Although we always recommend that our clients submit as much information as possible in order to avoid any delays in the processing of their application, the TEAS Regular application is a good option for individuals that want to at least get an early filing date even though they may not have everything else together.

Now that we understand the three different types of federal trademark applications, we will continue by discussing the components of the Federal Trademark Application and how to successfully apply for a trademark in our new article How to Apply for a Trademark.