A startup’s name and logo often become valuable long before its revenue does. This guide explains how trademark registration works at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), what it costs to file, and which deadlines founders can miss.
What does a trademark actually protect?
According to the USPTO, a trademark typically protects brand names and logos used on goods and services. It is a separate thing from a patent, a copyright, a domain name or a registered business name. Each of those covers something different, and holding one does not give a company the others.
That distinction matters because early-stage companies tend to treat naming as a single task: register the company, buy the domain, launch. Registering a company or buying a web address does not by itself settle whether another business already has stronger rights to a similar brand for similar products. A trademark application is the step that asks that question formally.
Founders still shaping what they are selling may want to settle the product first. A brand attached to a minimum viable product may change as customers react, so it is reasonable to ask how stable a name is before paying to protect it.
Should a startup search before filing?
The USPTO does not require a formal clearance search, but it recommends searching its database for similar marks and reviewing common application problems before applying. The reasoning is practical. An examining attorney compares a new application with existing marks, and a mark can be refused if it is too similar to one already claimed for related goods or services.
A useful search looks beyond identical names. The USPTO’s guidance points to three registrability questions:
- Is the mark generic? A word that simply names the product category cannot function as a brand.
- Is it functional? Features essential to how a product works are not protected as marks.
- Is it similar to an existing mark? The comparison covers related goods and services, not only the same industry.
What decisions come before the application?
Several choices have to be made before filing, and each affects the result.
Choose the format of the mark
The USPTO describes three common formats: a standard character mark, a stylized or design mark, and a sound mark. A standard character mark is typed text with no particular font or color. A mark that does not claim standard characters needs a digital image and a description, and if color is part of the mark, the drawing must show it in color with a statement naming the colors.
Define the goods and services
Every application must identify the goods and services the mark is, or will be, used with. The USPTO requires that these be correctly classified, with identifications selected from its ID Manual, a searchable list of approved descriptions. Each category of goods or services is a “class,” and fees are charged per class.
Pick a filing basis
The basis is the legal reason the applicant is entitled to file. The USPTO mentions use in commerce, a foreign registration, an extension of an international registration under Section 66(a), and intent to use under Section 1(b). Startups that have not yet launched commonly look at the intent-to-use route, which has extra steps described below.
Decide on a lawyer
U.S.-resident applicants are not required to hire an attorney, though the USPTO strongly encourages it. Applicants domiciled outside the United States must use a U.S.-licensed attorney. A founder based abroad who plans to sell in the American market should therefore budget for counsel from the start. For teams weighing wider launches, the questions in expanding across borders apply to brand protection as well.
How much does it cost to file?
As of the USPTO’s summary of its 2025 fee changes, which took effect on January 18, 2025, the base application fee is $350 per class of goods and services. The agency also lists per-class surcharges for applications that are not prepared carefully:
| Situation | Surcharge per class |
|---|---|
| Insufficient information in the application | $100 |
| Free-form text instead of the ID Manual | $200 |
| Each extra 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 | $200 |
Worked example
Illustrative arithmetic for a software startup filing in two classes. If it selects every description from the ID Manual and supplies complete information, the cost is 2 × $350 = $700. If it instead types a custom description for one class, that class costs $350 + $200 = $550, and the total becomes $550 + $350 = $900. Missing information in the other class adds $100, for $1,000. Careful preparation, in this example, saves $300 on the same two-class application.
Fees can change, and the USPTO points applicants to its fee pages to confirm current amounts before filing.
What happens after the application is filed?
Applications go through the USPTO’s Trademark Center, which requires a USPTO.gov account with two-step authentication. The agency advises applicants to check status every three to four months and to keep their address and email current, since missed correspondence can mean missed deadlines.
Examination
An examining attorney reviews the filing requirements, fees, possible conflicts with other marks, the drawing and any specimen, which is proof of how the mark is used. The USPTO says this stage “may take a number of months.”
If the attorney raises problems in an office action, the applicant must respond within three months of the issue date. One three-month extension is available for a fee. Applicants using the Madrid system, the international route, have six months with no extension.
Publication and opposition
Approved marks are published in the weekly Trademark Official Gazette. From the date of publication, any party that may be damaged has 30 days to file an opposition or ask for more time to oppose. For use-based applications with no opposition, the USPTO registers the mark and issues a certificate, and the agency says the next official notice can take three to four months after publication.
Why do intent-to-use applications take longer?
A startup with a genuine plan to use a name but no shipped product can file under Section 1(b), intent to use. The path is longer because registration waits for actual use.
According to the USPTO, if no opposition is filed, a notice of allowance issues about eight weeks after publication. The applicant then has six months to file a statement of use, which shows the mark in real use, or a six-month extension request. Multiple extensions are allowed, subject to a total limit and timing rules. If neither is filed on time, the application is abandoned, and a petition to revive must be filed within two months of the abandonment date, with a fee. Once a statement of use is approved, registration follows in about two months.
The practical consequence is a calendar problem. A team that raises money, pivots and loses track of a six-month deadline can lose its filing. Putting every USPTO deadline in a shared calendar is a cheap safeguard, and the same discipline helps when deciding what product-market fit really means for a brand and offer.
Which deadlines keep a registration alive?
Registration is not the end. The USPTO says specific maintenance documents must be filed or the registration is canceled or expires, in which case a new application is needed. For non-Madrid registrations, the agency lists:
- Section 8 declaration: between the fifth and sixth years after the registration date.
- Sections 8 and 9 (first renewal): between the ninth and tenth years.
- Later renewals: every 10 years after that, in the 19th to 20th year, 29th to 30th year and so on.
A six-month grace period follows each deadline, but filing during it requires an additional fee. Miss the grace period and the registration is canceled or deemed expired. The USPTO also describes an optional Section 15 filing for incontestability, which requires the mark to be on the Principal Register with at least five years of continuous use, and which can be combined with the year-five Section 8 filing. It recommends filing early in the year the filing is due, and if a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, a filing received the next business day is timely.
What if the application is refused?
An examining attorney can refuse a mark for reasons such as genericness, functionality or similarity to an existing mark, and unacceptable identifications of goods and services also lead to refusal. Many problems can be answered within the office action window. After a final refusal, the applicant may appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for an additional fee.
Companies with plans that span several categories may need several classes, with fees multiplying accordingly, so it is worth deciding early which products the brand will genuinely cover.
Treating the brand as a managed asset
Trademark registration rewards preparation more than speed. A founder who searches first, chooses precise descriptions and records every deadline can avoid most of the surcharges and lapses described above. Investor conversations often touch on intellectual property, as the overview of startup funding stages suggests, so a clean, well-maintained filing is one less item to explain.
This article provides general information only and is not legal, financial, investment or tax advice. Consult a qualified attorney about your own situation.
Sources: United States Patent and Trademark Office
