Ever registered a trademark yourself?

M

mpbiz

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Apr 29, 2010
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So I'm on mycorporation.com and it's only going to cost me $183 to form my LLC here in California, but the trademark...

For just a plain-text trademark in one class, to search the trademark database and complete the application it costs $357 + $375 in USPTO filing fees.

I've read a lot of mixed opinions out there of whether you should use a lawyer, an online service, or just do it yourself.

Am I crazy for not using a lawyer/online service, or can I really just register this trademark myself and make shit happen for a lot less?

Have any of you registered your own trademarks before? Did you experience any problems?

I need to make this decision within the next 24 hours so any help is greatly appreciated.
 


-joe- said:
You know it's $275 if you just do it directly through USPTO.gov?
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I already know its a lot cheaper, I just don't know whether its worth it to do it yourself or not.

I've heard some horror stories about people fucking up their own apps, but at the same time I've heard some people say they do it all the time.
 
mpbiz said:
I already know its a lot cheaper, I just don't know whether its worth it to do it yourself or not.

I've heard some horror stories about people fucking up their own apps, but at the same time I've heard some people say they do it all the time.
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You're paying $457 extra to use the online service, so no point in that - a lawyer might be worthwhile though (although I'd write it myself and then get it looked over by them, rather than them having to do one from scratch - that is, unless they already have a nice easy template available on westlaw.)
 
I am interested in this as well would like to know how this works with an s-corp

mpbiz don't you want to set up your business as an s-corp and not an LLC?

LLC will only protect you legally and not do much when tax time comes.
 
rockstar45177 said:
I am interested in this as well would like to know how this works with an s-corp

mpbiz don't you want to set up your business as an s-corp and not an LLC?

LLC will only protect you legally and not do much when tax time comes.
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Yeah that was a typo, the S-Corp is only $15 more on mycorporation.com so I'll be registering that. I am pretty sure though that the S-Corp costs more to maintain every year.

Either way, I'm more interested in whether or not people have registered their own trademarks since those are a little more complex than simply registering a company.
 
mpbiz said:
I've heard some horror stories about people fucking up their own apps, but at the same time I've heard some people say they do it all the time.
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You'd have to be semi retarded to not be able to fill in the online forms correctly and submit payment like any other transaction on the internet. If you're literate and can buy other shit online you can buy a trademark from the USPTO.
 
Fatbat said:
You'd have to be semi retarded to not be able to fill in the online forms correctly and submit payment like any other transaction on the internet. If you're literate and can buy other shit online you can buy a trademark from the USPTO.
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Thank you for making me realize how ignorant I am.
 
When you pay a trademark attorney to help you with this they will do a lot of due diligence for you to try to make sure that your mark isn't already being used elsewhere in trade. This step is important. Almost any cool name you can think of will already usually be used somewhere, such as as a band name, a website name, etc. If somebody else is first to use the mark in trade you're going to have a hard time getting your trademark approved and you'll just end up wasting your application fee.

An attorney can also guide you through the process of applying for different AREAS of trade. They lump all these weird things together, like teeshirts are mixed in with a bunch of other odd stuff, but print books are in another category, etc. Ideally you'd want to apply for each area of use that you're going to conceivably be moving into for the next ten years. Then at the end of ten years you have to re-apply. You'll also need to provide hard copies of "proof" that you're already using the mark in trade to help increase the chances that your trademark will be approved. So if you've already published a book using the name, include a copy of that physical book with the application. A trademark attorney will guide you through this process so you don't fuck it up.

Unfortunately a trademark attorney will cost you. And it will also take a long time for your application to even be reviewed because the patents and trademark office has been horribly understaffed for a long time.

I think I ended up paying about $10,000 in attorney's fees ($400 an hour and they charge you for time spent emailing info back and forth to you) and it took me I think under two years but more than a year to get approved. And this was in an "easy" situation where I'd already been using the mark in trade for my music business, so I had loads of proof of using teeshirt logos, printed material, etc. with the mark.
 
If you are debating whether or not to reg a trademark yourself.. just do it yourself.

I've talked to several people who have used legal zoom, an attorney and done it on their own. Fatbat was right, I watched 20 minutes worth of USPTO videos on youtube and just filled out the application myself. I already did plenty of research and my trademark name was wide open for the taking.

And don't worry about what dan said above about getting confused with all the different classes. They have a manual id database where you can search keywords, and you can also just look at your competitors.

I basically copied all of my competitors + a couple more and they were all in the same class anyways. If you aren't a;lready selling make sure to file 1b status and while you are waiting for your shit to get approved.. get your product live BEFORE HAND so you can show them that you are actually making sales.

I've also been told that it helps the process if you include a logo as well instead of just the plain text.
 
be careful with setting up s-corp online. most of those sites just sell you a c-corp and then when you get the c-corp you need to file for an s-corp... doesnt hurt to just call them and have them walk you through it
 
mpbiz said:
If you are debating whether or not to reg a trademark yourself.. just do it yourself.

I've talked to several people who have used legal zoom, an attorney and done it on their own. Fatbat was right, I watched 20 minutes worth of USPTO videos on youtube and just filled out the application myself. I already did plenty of research and my trademark name was wide open for the taking.

And don't worry about what dan said above about getting confused with all the different classes. They have a manual id database where you can search keywords, and you can also just look at your competitors.

I basically copied all of my competitors + a couple more and they were all in the same class anyways. If you aren't a;lready selling make sure to file 1b status and while you are waiting for your shit to get approved.. get your product live BEFORE HAND so you can show them that you are actually making sales.

I've also been told that it helps the process if you include a logo as well instead of just the plain text.
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You have file it as a legal entity like a company or you can do it individually as well.. I also need to file a few trademarks...

Just got an awesome domain name that will be generic in sometime.. But I missed the .com
 
blogspotter said:
You have file it as a legal entity like a company or you can do it individually as well.. I also need to file a few trademarks...

Just got an awesome domain name that will be generic in sometime.. But I missed the .com
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Yeah I filed it individually. I REALLY didn't want to because everything is public record, but if someone else would have grabbed this mark I would have lost it so I just did it and plan on transferring it to my LLC later.

If you do some searches you'd be surprised how many live trademarks are registered by individuals.
 
mpbiz said:
Yeah I filed it individually. I REALLY didn't want to because everything is public record, but if someone else would have grabbed this mark I would have lost it so I just did it and plan on transferring it to my LLC later.

If you do some searches you'd be surprised how many live trademarks are registered by individuals.
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Ok Thanks... :-)
 
blogspotter said:
Ok Thanks... :-)
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Just remember it takes a long time before your mark is actually approved and goes live. The best thing you can do while waiting is get your site up and running.

That way if there are any problems along the way you can show them that you are already actively using/promoting the mark.
 
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