Own your brand name in all 50 states.
A federal trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office gives you exclusive nationwide rights to a brand name, logo, or slogan. We run the clearance search, classify correctly, prepare the application, and respond to any USPTO office actions through registration.
Trademark Registration, explained plainly.
A trademark is a brand identifier: a name, logo, slogan, or other distinctive symbol that consumers use to identify the source of goods or services. Forming an LLC, registering a DBA, or buying a domain does not give you trademark rights. Only registration with the US Patent and Trademark Office gives you nationwide exclusive rights to the mark.
A registered federal trademark blocks others from using a similar mark on similar goods, gives you the right to use the (R) symbol, creates a presumption of validity in court, lets you sue in federal court, allows you to record the mark with US Customs to block infringing imports, and is recognized in most other countries through the Madrid Protocol.
The USPTO application process takes 8 to 14 months in normal circumstances and involves a clearance search, choice of one or more international classes, an examination by a USPTO examining attorney, a 30-day opposition period, and final registration. Most applications receive at least one office action requiring a response. We handle the full process end to end.
Common situations that need this filing.
What is included with trademark registration.
- Direct-hit and similarity search of the USPTO database
- Common-law search (state registrations, domain names, web)
- International class selection (we recommend the right ones)
- Specimen of use review and preparation
- TEAS Plus or TEAS Standard application filed with the USPTO
- Office action responses through registration (most applications get at least one)
- Statement of Use filing for intent-to-use applications
- Calendar reminders for the Section 8 and Section 9 maintenance filings
Four steps. We handle everything else.
How we compare.
- $249 service fee per class
- Clearance search included
- Office action responses included
- Maintenance calendar built in
- Madrid Protocol support
- Stored in Document Vault
| LegalZoom | ZenBusiness | CorpNet | File.Business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service fee per class | $$$ | $$$ | $$ | $249 |
| Office action response | paid | paid | paid | included |
| Common-law search | paid | limited | limited | included |
| Class selection advice | paid | no | limited | included |
| Maintenance reminders | no | no | limited | yes |
“Amazon kept letting copycats list under our brand. File.Business filed our federal trademark, we got Brand Registry, and within 60 days the knockoffs were gone. Saved us six figures in lost sales.”
The File.Business Promise
If we miss a filing deadline on a service you pay us to manage, we pay the state penalty. If you change your mind in the first 60 days, we refund our service fee in full. Your data stays yours, always.
Common questions.
Is a federal trademark different from a DBA or LLC name?
How long does USPTO registration take?
What is the difference between TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard?
What is an international class?
What is an office action?
Can I trademark a generic or descriptive name?
What is "intent to use"?
How long does a trademark last?
What about international trademark protection?
Will a trademark stop counterfeiters?
Start your trademark in about 5 minutes.
Tell us a few details. We file at the right office. You receive the stamped certificate in your dashboard.
On the $129/yr Compliance Annual Filings plan, we cover state late fees.
When you autofile your annual report through the $129/yr plan and we miss the deadline, we pay the state's late fee. The guarantee applies to that specific plan and the filings it includes. Other File.Business services are billed at the prices on this page.
Four steps from request to delivery
File.Business runs your filing on a single concierge workflow. You provide what we need; we handle the rest.
Tell us what you need
2-minute intake. We confirm the filing type, jurisdiction, and any supporting documents required.
We prepare the filing
Our specialists draft the document, validate against state requirements, and queue for your review where required.
We submit to the state
Filed through the state portal. We pay the state fee, track the submission, and resolve any state correspondence.
Confirmation in your vault
state-required document delivered to your SOC 2 encrypted document vault, with deadline tracking for the next filing.