TRADEMARK APPLICATION FILING PREPARATION MATERIALS

As an entrepreneur, building a strong brand identity is key to the success of your business. And one of the most important steps in protecting that identity is obtaining a trademark. But navigating the world of trademarks can be daunting, especially if you’re new to the process, including identifying USPTO trademark application filing preparation materials.  In Chapter 5 of Tip-Top Trademarks. Brand Protection Blueprint for Business, now available on Amazon, we discuss the process of filing a trademark application directly, including what materials to prepare ahead of time. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at Chapter 5 of Tip Top Trademarks and explore some of the key insights and strategies the book offers for those seeking to file a trademark application directly. Whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur or an established business owner, understanding the trademark application process is crucial to protecting your brand and ensuring its long-term success.  5.2 Trademark Owner Information

For the owner Information, you want to be precise about who or what owns the trademark.  In order to file a trademark application, it is important to provide accurate and complete information about the trademark owner. This includes the owner’s name and type, whether they are an individual, corporation, or LLC, as well as their citizenship and address. The owner’s address can be either a P.O. Box or a street address anywhere in the world, and there is no requirement for it to be within the United States. This information helps the USPTO identify the owner of the trademark and process the application accordingly. Failure to provide accurate information about the trademark owner could lead to delays in the application process or even rejection of the application. 5.3 Trademark Information In order to file a trademark application, you will need to prepare the necessary information about your trademark. This includes details about your brand name, also known as a word mark, and your logo, also known as a design mark. To provide examples of word marks, let’s take the trademarks “Pepsi” and “Facebook.” In the trademark application, “Pepsi” would be entered as “P-E-P-S-I,” while “Facebook” would be entered as “F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K.” These are examples of how word marks are typically centered on a trademark application. When inputting your brand name, you will simply need to enter the standard characters in the designated field on the application, and no additional materials are required. For logos, however, you will need to upload a black-and-white copy of the design in both .jpg and .pdf format. It’s important to ensure that your logo is prepared properly in order to avoid any potential issues with your application. 5.4 Goods and Services Information When filing a US trademark application, it’s essential to provide goods and services information. To do so, you

must classify your industry and the goods or services you offer. This information is necessary to protect your trademark for the appropriate types of products or services. You should ask yourself, “What am I selling?” The answer should be a type of product (“goods”) or a service. The USPTO has a list of recognized classes that you can match your goods and services to, and you can also use the USPTO Master List of International Classifications for Trademark Filings to see the class that similar products are filed. Using this search tool, you can identify the best description of your product or service. For any special cases, it’s best to consult an experienced trademark attorney. Proper classification of your goods and services is crucial to avoid potential legal issues down the road, and it’s an essential step in protecting your brand. An example seen in Chapter 5.4 is for  “coffee,” the search results show an option for “antioxidant-enriched coffee for medical purposes,” which is classified in Class 005 for dietary supplements. But just selling regular coffee, perhaps the “preparations for making coffee-based beverages,” which is just coffee with no medical properties, falls under Class 030, which broadly covers staple foods. Most entrepreneurs know their product well and can identify the best description of their product (or service) using this search tool. For any special cases, the best practice is to consult an experienced trademark attorney.   5.5 Application Filing Fee Before submitting your trademark application, which is discussed further in Chapter 6 of Tip-Top Trademarks,, you must ensure that you have paid for the filing fee ready. The USPTO only accepts payment through its website using a credit or debit card. As of 2022, the filing fee is $250 per trademark, per class, with most trademarks requiring only one class. The USPTO does not accept payment through PayPal or cryptocurrency, so it’s important to have a valid credit or debit card available. One benefit of filing directly through the USPTO website is that there are no third-party fees involved. Make sure to have your payment information ready when starting the application process, as it cannot be submitted until the fee has been paid. For instance, if you apply for the word mark PEPSI in Class 032 for carbonated beverages, you must pay a filing fee of $250 USD. But if you also want to register the same mark in Class 025 for t-shirts, you must pay an additional $250 filing fee. The filing fees are per trademark and per class, meaning that filing for one trademark in one class will cost $250, and filing for one trademark in two classes will cost $500. So, it’s essential to budget $250 per trademark (or logo) per class to ensure that you can pay the filing fees. Registering a trademark is a crucial step in building and protecting your brand identity. The process can be intimidating, especially for those new to it, but resources such as Tip Top Trademarks provide valuable guidance on the application process. Chapter 5 of the book offers important insights on providing accurate owner and trademark information, classifying goods and services, and paying the filing fee. By following these guidelines, entrepreneurs can avoid potential legal issues and ensure the long-term success of their businesses. It’s important to remember that registering a trademark is an investment in the future of your brand, and the benefits it provides in terms of protection and recognition far outweigh the initial cost and effort. The best practice is to consult an experienced trademark attorney when filing trademark applications.