To all current trademark owners who have a maintenance filing due within the year and those currently considering filing any new trademark applications…get your filing done before 2021!
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be increasing its fees for filing trademark applications, post-registration maintenance filings, and certain filings with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), such as opposition and cancellation proceedings.
Some of the fees are new, and many of the fee increases are substantial. The USPTO is setting and adjusting Trademark fees for the first time in nearly three years through its Final Rule, effective January 2, 2021. This represents the end of a multi-year review and adjustment process. The USPTO says that this Final Rule enables the USPTO to continue to enhance the quality of trademark examination, achieve optimal examination times, invest in modernizing trademark information technology systems and infrastructure, and provide stability to USPTO operations, even in times of financial fluctuations.
The most notable changes are listed below. Please note this is not a complete list of all the fees being changed, particularly for the TTAB. Further, these fees apply to electronic filings, which make up the bulk of filings because the USPTO has mostly gone paperless. For a more in-depth review of the changes, please contact us or review the full USPTO Notice.
| Trademark Application and Related Fees | Current Fee | New Fee |
| TEAS Standard Application | $275 per class | $350 per class |
| Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Plus Application | $225 per class | $250 per class |
| Petition to the Director filed through TEAS | $100 | $250 |
| Petition to revive an abandoned application filed through TEAS | $100 | $150 |
| Letter of Protest | No Fee | $50 |
| Post-Registration Fees | Current Fee | New Fee |
| Section 8 or 71 Declaration of Continued Use | $125 per class | $225per class |
| Deletion of goods/services after submission of Section 8 or 71 Declaration but before acceptance of Declaration | no fee | $250 per class |
| Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Fees | Current Fee | New Fee |
| Initial 90-day extension requests for filing a notice of opposition or a second 60-day extension request for filing a notice of opposition | $100 per app | $200 per app |
| Final 60-day extension request for filing a Notice of Opposition | $200 per app | $400 per app |
| Notice of Opposition | $400 per class | $600 per class |
| Petition for Cancellation | $400 per class | $600 per class |
| Filing an ex parte appeal | $200 per class | $225 per class |
| New fee for second, and subsequent, requests for an extension of time to file an appeal brief in an ex parte appeal filed through ESTTA | No Fee | $100 per app |
| New fee for appeal briefs in an ex parte appeal filed through ESTTA | No Fee | $200 per class |
| New fee for requests for oral hearings | No Fee | $500 |
We’re encouraging all of our clients to renew their registration or file a new application before the new year to take advantage of the current fees.