The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced fee increases that will affect trademarks effective January 2, 2021.
Some of the main changes include:
Application and application-related fees
TEAS Plus applications (using the USPTO's "canned" descriptions of goods/services: $250 per class, of goods or services ($25 fee increase)
Processing fee for failing to meet TEAS Plus requirements: $100 per class of goods/services
TEAS regular applications (using custom descriptions of goods/services): $350 per class—up from $275 per class (+$75 increase)
Post registration fees
Section 8 or 71 declaration of continued use, filed through TEAS: $225 per class ($100 fee increase) In an attempt to more closely monitor "zombie trademarks" -- registrations listing various goods and services, which the owner doesn't necessarily use in connection with the mark, the Trademark Office will implement a new fee for deleting goods, services, and/or classes from a registration after submitting a section 8 or 71 declaration, but before the declaration is accepted of $250 per class if filed through TEAS. There will be no fee if you request to amend your registration electronically prior to before submitting a section 8 or 71 declaration and only delete goods, services, and/or classes in the request. Otherwise, the current fee for filing a section 7 request through TEAS is $100.
Petition to the Director and letter of protest fees
Petition to the Director filed through TEAS: $250 ($150 fee increase)
Petition to revive an abandoned application filed through TEAS: $150 ($50 fee increase)
New fee for letter of protest: $50 per application (formerly one of the best free options for making an Examining Attorney aware of your interest and potential opposition to a new application). In addition to adjusting fees, the USPTO is implementing new procedures for letters of protest. These procedures include modifications in order to encourage appropriate submissions to help Examining Attorneys assigned to new trademark applications determine whether the submitted evidence supports a ground for refusal. The Trademark Office hopes that the new requirements will encourage the filing of timely, relevant, and well-supported letters of protest, which ultimately strengthen the integrity of the register. Some of the requirements state that you must:
- Provide an itemized evidence index.
- Submit no more than 10 items of evidence or 75 total pages, absent special circumstances.
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) fees
Petition to cancel filed through ESTTA: $600 per class ($200 fee increase)
Notice of opposition filed through ESTTA: $600 per class ($200 fee increase)
Initial 90-day extension requests for filing a notice of opposition, or second 60-day extension requests for filing a notice of opposition, filed through ESTTA: $200 per application ($100 fee increase) There is still no fee for a first 30-day extension request for filing a notice of opposition, filed through ESTTA.
Final 60-day extension request for filing a notice of opposition, filed through ESTTA: $400 per application ($200 fee increase). I'm happy about this one, as some parties have used the low-cost extension system to simply drag out an adversary's application process even though no serious risk of consumer confusion existed.
Ex parte appeal filed through ESTTA: $225 per class ($25 fee increase)
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: $100 per application. First request is still free.
New fee for appeal briefs in an ex parte appeal filed through ESTTA: $200 per class
New fee for requests for oral hearings: $500 per proceeding
The USPTO is implementing partial refunds for petitions to cancel in default judgments if the cancellation involves only a nonuse or abandonment claim, the defendant didn’t appear, and there were no filings other than the petition to cancel.
Paper filing fee changes: does anyone even file paper applications these days? If so, call us and we'll get you modernized.
If you have questions about any of these changes, CONTACT US to set up an appointment! It's not too late to get your 2020 trademark application filed!
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