On May 9th, we learned that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has VERY quietly released a proposal to increase their fees.

The price is going up!

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This price change is estimated to go into effect in November 2024, but it wasn’t too long ago that the USPTO increased some of their fees in 2021, after COVID left them severely backed-up.

Now, not only are they planning to increase the cost of items/services AGAIN, but they also plan to charge for items that have never incurred an additional fee before! Increased fees exist for almost everything ranging from $50 to $200+. Under this new proposal, a trademark application for 1 mark/class, currently $250, will start at $350 with additional fees for simple customizations.

Bottom line: They are literally brainstorming “creative” ways to make you spend MORE money.

They say that this price change is all in an effort to improve processing times, recover Office costs, and enhance the quality of incoming applications. And they conveniently failed to mention that this may also be an attempt to combat the HOARDS of fraudulent Chinese applications left uncheck for YEARS that are slowing down the Office.

But still, we hate to see that this is their proposed solution.

It seems that once again, they’ve determined that the easy fix to their backlog is to raise the bar to entry. Decrease public access to trademark registration by increasing the financial commitment of new trademark applicants.

And though increased costs would very likely discourage unserious entrepreneurs from filing trademarks, unfortunately, many SERIOUS business owners will be penalized, as well. Especially small business owners with big dreams and real hustle. They’re going to be the ones to feel the financial strain AND the pressure to self-file and risk making a careless mistake.

Over 60% of trademark applications filed are initially rejected.

These odds decrease with an attorney. These DIYers, hoping to save money, in fact stand to lose funds AND time spent if they (1) don’t have an attorney-provided search report, and (2) make errors too serious for an attorney to later come in and correct.

More improperly drafted applications and uninformed applicants won’t “improve the quality of incoming applications” nor processing time. The USPTO will just collect their money, and the DIYers will be without a trademark certificate.

So if you’ve been procrastinating on protecting your brand, this is a sign to get serious about it. Decide whether your brand name, logo, slogan, and/or other brand assets are worth protecting!

You don’t want to deal with these upcoming fees nor the eventual influx of applications before the fee increase.

And if you think your brand is worthy of protection, let’s get started on your trademark journey immediately!