The trademark desk filing services compared in words

No stars, no scores, no ranked order

Trademark Service Ratings What each filing service includes, and what it leaves to you

A review desk for anyone registering a trademark

Trademark filing services, compared on what they actually do

What each service includes in a federal application, how it handles the clearance search and any office action that follows, and what it charges on top of the government fee. Read side by side, so the difference between packages is plain before you pay for one.

What gets compared Service, attorney or yourself

The name says ratings. The pages give none: a service is described by what it does.

  • No stars, no scores

    Where one service suits a situation better, that is said in words, with the reason.

  • No ranked order

    Services are set out side by side on the same questions, never as a numbered list.

  • Prices carry their source

    A price is quoted from the provider’s own pricing page, with the date it was read.

On the desk

What a filing service sells

Every service files the same application with the same office. What differs is how much of the work around it they take on.

The application is the easy part to buy

A federal trademark application goes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the office examines it the same way whoever submits it. A filing service does not change that review. What it changes is how much of the preparation you do yourself, and who you turn to when the examining attorney raises an objection.

That makes packages hard to compare from the headline price. One includes a search and leaves office actions to you; another includes attorney review and charges for each extra class. The pages on this site set those terms out against each other so the gaps show.

The comparison

What every service is read against

The same questions for each provider, in the order an application meets them.

  • Clearance search

    Whether the service checks for conflicting marks before filing, and how far it looks: the federal register only, or state records and common-law use as well.

    Ask what the search report shows you, not just whether one is run.

  • Application preparation

    Who drafts the application, who chooses the filing basis, and who checks the specimen showing the mark in use.

    Ask whether you can review the application before it is submitted.

  • Classes and descriptions

    The USPTO charges its filing fee for each class of goods or services. A description written too broadly or too narrowly is a common reason for trouble later.

    Ask how many classes the quoted price includes.

  • Office action responses

    An examining attorney at the USPTO may raise objections in an office action. Some services answer the simple ones; others hand you on to an attorney.

    Ask which kinds of office action are covered and which are billed separately.

  • Attorney access

    A service that is not a law firm cannot give legal advice. Some packages add a consultation or a review by a licensed attorney.

    Ask whether the attorney is your representative of record or only an adviser.

  • After registration

    A registration needs periodic maintenance filings to stay alive. Some services track the deadlines or watch for conflicting new filings; many stop at registration.

    Ask what, if anything, the service does once the certificate issues.

Three routes

Service, attorney or yourself

A filing service sits between doing the whole application yourself and hiring a lawyer to do it. Which one fits depends on the mark, not on the price alone.

File it yourself

Directly through the USPTO

What you pay for
The government filing fee and nothing else.
What you do
The search, the classes, the description, the specimen, and every reply to the examining attorney.
Suits
A simple mark in one class, where you have the time to read the USPTO guidance closely.

Online filing service

Document preparation, sometimes more

What you pay for
Preparation and submission, plus whatever the package adds: a search, a review, monitoring.
What you do
Answer the questionnaire and supply the specimen. Legal judgement stays with you unless an attorney is included.
Suits
An owner who wants the filing handled but expects a straightforward application.

Trademark attorney

Legal advice and representation

What you pay for
Advice on the mark itself, a reasoned search opinion, and representation before the USPTO.
What you do
Explain the business and approve the strategy.
Suits
A crowded field, several classes, an objection already raised, or an applicant based outside the United States, who must be represented by a US-licensed attorney.

Open questions

Questions a trademark filing raises

What owners ask about filing services, grouped by the point in the process where each one comes up.

Choosing how to file

  • When is a filing service enough, and when does the mark need an attorney?
  • Can a trademark be filed without any service at all?
  • What does a service add over the USPTO’s own filing system?

Reading a price

  • Which costs sit outside a service’s advertised package?
  • How do extra classes of goods or services change what you pay?
  • Is a search worth paying for before the application goes in?

After the application

  • What is an office action, and who should answer it?
  • What happens if someone opposes the mark after it is published?
  • What has to be filed to keep a registration in force?

Picking between services

  • What separates the cheapest package from the most complete one?
  • Does attorney review mean the attorney represents you?
  • Which services keep watching the register once the mark is registered?

Write to the desk

Using a filing service and found a term its sales page leaves out? Or a question about trademark filing you would like answered? Send it in.

Email the desk Back to the comparison