Pricing for Business Name Trademark/Patent?

[mikepcservice]

Hey guys, local businessman here in NY asked me to help him get a patent or trademark for his new business name. I am seeing on Legal zoom this costs $600 plus fees.

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Is there any cheaper safe way to get this done and also what would any of you charge the person to get this done for him please?

 

[tomcam]

You are not looking for a patent. You are looking for a trademark on the business name. In the USA, you get a “common law“ trademark simply by using the R with a circle around it. The common law trademark doesn’t give you much legal protection.

What you client is looking for is a registered trademark, which offer is much more protection in case the name is litigated. In theory you can go straight to the USPTO trademark site and file it yourself, but there are dozens of categories and it can be a little bit difficult to navigate them. In theory you can do it for an application fee of about $325 or so. The trick there is that the rules are not necessarily obvious and you may end up having to answer questions you won’t understand. At least I didn’t understand them when I tried it.

So it’s probably worth attempting to file yourself, but don’t be surprised if you have to find a trademark attorney.

 

[mikepcservice]

You are not looking for a patent. You are looking for a trademark on the business name. In the USA, you get a “common law“ trademark simply by using the R with a circle around it. The common law trademark doesn’t give you much legal protection.

What you client is looking for is a registered trademark, which offer is much more protection in case the name is litigated. In theory you can go straight to the USPTO trademark site and file it yourself, but there are dozens of categories and it can be a little bit difficult to navigate them. In theory you can do it for an application fee of about $325 or so. The trick there is that the rules are not necessarily obvious and you may end up having to answer questions you won’t understand. At least I didn’t understand them when I tried it.

So it’s probably worth attempting to file yourself, but don’t be surprised if you have to find a trademark attorney.

Thank you very much for all of this info, I have relayed it to the person.