USPTO Trademark Fee Increases Effective January 18, 2025

1.9.2025

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced fee increases that will take effect on January 18, 2025. These changes will impact many aspects of the trademark process, including new application filings, post-registration maintenance, and appeals. Listed below are a few of the key fee increases:

Key Changes Include:

Trademark Applications: The existing two-tiered application fee structure—TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard—will be replaced with a single base application fee of $350/class. This change simplifies the filing process by eliminating the separate requirements for TEAS Plus, but it also increases the cost of filing for many applicants because it eliminates the lower cost TEAS Plus option of $250/class.

Additionally, the USPTO is introducing new fees for applications that are incomplete or include custom identifications of goods or services. These fees are designed to encourage more complete and accurate filings but can increase costs for applicants if an error is made with filing.

Maintenance Filings: Costs for renewals and declarations of continued use (e.g., under Sections 8, 9, and 15) will also increase. This will have particular impact on portfolios with multiple marks.
Petitions and Letters of Protest: The USPTO has increased fees for petitions, including the petition to revive an abandoned application, from $150 to $250. Additionally, the fee for filing a letter of protest, used to challenge pending applications, has tripled from $50 to $150.

*** See the chart below for specific fee increases ***

What This Means for You:

The upcoming fee increases will result in higher costs for filing trademark applications, responding to office actions, maintaining registrations, and submitting other trademark-related filings. While these fee increases may raise the cost associated with securing and maintaining trademark protection, it is still critical to protect your brand and intellectual property. The value of your trademark portfolio far outweighs the cost of registration and maintenance—especially as your brand grows and becomes more valuable.

How This Impacts Trademark Filings:

Encourages Early Action: Clients considering filing new trademark applications or making post-registration filings should act before January 18, 2025, to avoid higher fees.
Strategic Portfolio Management: These increases emphasize the need to maintain a streamlined trademark portfolio by carefully evaluating the value and use of each registration.
Hiring Trademark Counsel: The new fees for insufficient information and the use of a free-form text box highlight the importance of filing your application accurately and with all the required details. Working with IP counsel can help you avoid these additional charges and ensure your filing complies.
Budget Adjustments: For businesses managing multiple trademarks or involved in enforcement or opposition proceedings, planning for higher expenses is essential.

Our IP team is here to help you navigate these changes and ensure that your trademark filings are timely and cost-effective. If you are considering filing a new application, renewing an existing registration, or reviving an abandoned application, now is the time to act.

Contact us Today:

We are happy to review your trademark portfolio and filing strategies to minimize the impact of the fee increases. Please reach out to discuss how we can help protect your valuable trademarks.

Key Trademark Fee Changes:

Fee Type	Current Fee	New Fee	Details
Basic Application	$250(TEAS Plus)	$350/class	Fee for filing a new application electronically using TEAS Plus
Insufficient information	New Fee	$100/class	Fee for filing an application with insufficient information or missing required details
Use of free-form text box to enter the indemnification of goods/services	New Fee	$200/class	Fee for using a free-form text box to describe goods/services
Additional group of 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000	New Fee	$200/class	Fee for adding an additional 1,000 characters to goods/services description
Amendment to Allege Use or Statement of Use for intent-to-use applications	$100/class	$150/class	Fee for submitting an AAU or SOU to show that the trademark is being used in commerce
Section 8 Declaration	$225/class	$325/class	Fee for filing a Declaration of Use to show that the trademark is still in use
Section 15 Declaration	$200/class	$250/class	Fee for filing a Declaration of Incontestability to claim the mark is incontestable
Section 9 Registration renewal	$300/class	$325/class	Fee to file a renewal to extend the trademark’s protection for another 10 years
Section 71 declaration	$225/class	$325/class	Fee for filing a Section 71 Declaration to maintain an international registration under the Madrid Protocol
Renewal fee filed at WIPO	$300/class	$325/class	Fee for renewing a trademark under the Madrid Protocol through WIPO
Petition to Director	$250	$400	Fee for requesting the director to review a decision or action taken by a trademark examiner
Petition to revive an application	$150	$250	Fee for reviving an abandoned application
Letter of Protest	$50	$150	Fee for challenging pending applications