You want to protect a name. Here is the short version. There is no single global trademark, so you build protection country by country, sometimes regionally. Start where you actually sell. For most businesses that means one home market first, then more markets as revenue justifies them. A US application costs $350 per class in government fees, and you can check whether the name is free before you spend anything.
First: are you filing a name, a logo, or a slogan?
This is the decision that shapes everything downstream, and most people reach it after the money is already spent.
- A word mark protects the name itself, in any font, any color, any styling. It is the broadest and usually the most useful filing. If you can only afford one, file the name.
- A logo, or design mark, protects the specific visual: the wordmark plus the lettering, the symbol, the layout. It is narrower. Change the logo in two years and the registration protects the old design, not the new one.
- A slogan can be registered if it works as a badge of origin rather than as ordinary advertising copy. Descriptive taglines get refused.
The practical answer for most brands: file the name as a word mark first. Add the logo as a second filing when the design is settled and the budget allows. If the logo carries a distinctive symbol that stands on its own, that symbol is worth its own application.
Two more calls to make before you file:
- Personal name or company name. File in the legal entity that owns the brand. Filing in a founder's personal name and later moving it to the company means an assignment, extra paperwork, and a chain of title to keep straight.
- How you actually use it. If you always show the name inside a lockup with a symbol, the word mark still protects the words. If nobody ever sees the words on their own, the logo filing matters more.
What makes a name registrable?
A trademark has to be capable of distinguishing your goods or services from everyone else's. That is the core rule across almost every system.
- Distinctive beats descriptive. Coined or suggestive names register more easily and defend more easily than descriptive or generic terms. "Blue Bottle" for coffee works. "Fresh Coffee" does not.
- Conflicts sink applications. If your name is close to an earlier mark for related goods or services, expect a refusal for likelihood of confusion.
- Use matters. Most offices will ask how you use, or intend to use, the name with specific goods or services.
The 7 step process
This sequence works whether you file nationally, regionally, or through the Madrid System.
1) Check the name before you commit to it
Search for identical and confusingly similar marks in the same or related classes, and check domains and marketplaces while you are there. Run the name through our free trademark check first, then go deeper with the tools in Trademark Searches: Beyond Google.
Pick your Nice classes at the same time. Class choice drives both risk and cost, since every office charges per class. Pick the wrong class or write a vague description and you invite a refusal or end up with rights narrower than you think. Our class assist tool and Nice Classification: How to Choose the Right Trademark Classes walk through it.
2) Map the markets you need now and over the next 18 to 24 months
Trademark rights are territorial, so the protection plan should mirror the sales plan. List your current sales countries, your next wave, and any manufacturing or licensing hubs. Rank them by revenue and by counterfeiting risk.
- One or two countries: national filings are usually simpler and cheaper.
- The EU: a single EU trademark covers all member states in one filing.
- A spread of regions: the Madrid System can bundle designations, if you have a qualifying home filing.
3) Prepare the data once, file many times
Most offices ask for the same core information. Build one clean master file.
- Applicant details. The legal name and address of the owner. Get this right or you create chain of title problems later.
- The mark. Word mark in plain text, or an image if it is stylized. If both matter, that is two filings.
- Goods and services. Precise, plain language items in the correct Nice classes. No marketing language.
- Priority claims. If you filed recently in one country, you may be able to claim that filing date in others within the Paris Convention window of six months.
- In the United States, you can file based on current use in commerce or on intent to use. Intent to use applications need acceptable proof of use before the registration issues, which our Statement of Use guide covers.
4) Choose the route and file
- National or regional. File directly with the office: the USPTO for the United States, the EUIPO for the EU, the UKIPO for the UK. Since 18 January 2025 the USPTO has had a single base application, so the old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard choice no longer exists.
- Madrid System. You cannot file with WIPO directly. You file through your home office, based on a home application or registration called the basic mark. WIPO checks formalities, records and publishes the mark, then notifies each designated country to examine it under its own law. Our Madrid Protocol filing page sets out what you need.
5) Examination and opposition
Every office examines on absolute grounds and for conflicts with earlier marks. Under Madrid, each designated country examines under its own law within a set refusal period, commonly 12 or 18 months. If no refusal is notified in that period, protection applies there as if the mark had been registered nationally.
Plan for questions. Most refusals are fixable if you answer on time. The common ones:
- Descriptiveness or genericness
- Likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark
- Over broad or unclear goods and services
- Formalities, such as an owner name mismatch or a missing translation
If a US Office Action lands, How to Respond to a USPTO Office Action takes it step by step.
6) Registration and proof of use
Once the application clears examination and the opposition period, it proceeds to registration. In the US, an intent to use application needs acceptable specimens before a registration can issue, and there are further use filings later in the life of the registration.
7) Maintain, renew and watch
A trademark is a long term asset if you maintain and police it.
- Renewals. Registrations are renewable for further terms. A Madrid international registration runs 10 years and is renewed centrally with WIPO.
- Ownership records. Keep them current and record transfers where required. The USPTO charges $40 to record an assignment.
- Monitoring. Set up a watch and a takedown routine for marketplaces and domains. See Trademark Monitoring and Enforcement.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
Government fees are public and per class. These are the ones most of our clients ask about:
| Office | Government filing fee |
|---|---|
| USPTO (United States) | $350 per class, base application |
| EUIPO (European Union) | €850 for one class, plus €50 for a second class, plus €150 for each further class |
| UKIPO (United Kingdom) | £205 for one class, plus £60 for each further class |
A few more US numbers worth knowing, because they land after filing rather than at filing: a Statement of Use is $150 per class, an extension request is $125 per class, and the first maintenance filing under Section 8 is $325 per class.
On top of the government fee sits the legal work: clearing the name, drafting the goods and services, and answering the examiner. We quote that as a fixed fee before we file, so you see the total first. Our pricing page has the current figures, and How Much Does It Cost to Trademark a Name in 2026? breaks the cost down by route and class count.
On timing, plan in months rather than weeks. A US application waits its turn for an examiner, then publishes for opposition before it can register, and an Office Action or an opposition adds to that. The USPTO publishes its current pendency figures and we check them when a launch depends on the date. Under Madrid, each designated country has that fixed 12 or 18 month refusal window, so the outer limit is predictable even when the middle is not.
Madrid fees themselves are a basic fee plus a fee for each designated country, and several countries set their own individual fees that change from time to time. We price the exact combination for your country list rather than quoting a range.
Madrid or direct filing?
Use Madrid when you need several member countries and you have a qualifying home filing to build on. It also makes later designations and central renewals easier.
File direct when you only need one or two countries, when a regional route like the EU already covers your market, or when a country you need is not a Madrid member.
One judgment call we share with clients. If you plan an EU mark plus several non-EU countries at once, Madrid is usually efficient. If the EU is your only target, a direct EU filing is simpler and often reaches a result sooner. For more markets and more routes, see our international trademark service.
Common mistakes we fix
The same ones, year after year.
- Descriptive naming. A name that describes the goods draws objections almost everywhere. Better to find that out at the naming stage than at the examination stage.
- Mis-scoped goods and services. Over claiming invites conflicts and objections. Under claiming leaves gaps. Draft to what you sell now and what you will sell soon.
- Copy paste Madrid designations. Madrid is a tool, not a strategy. Pick designations that match the launch plan.
- Owner errors. Filing in the wrong entity breaks the chain of title. Fix it before filing, not after.
- Proof of use blind spots. A US intent to use application does not mature into a registration until acceptable specimens are in. Budget for that stage and document real use early.
Should you start in the US or the EU?
If your first launch is North America, the US is usually the first filing, and it can serve as the home office for a Madrid application later. If you will sell across the European Union within the year, a single EU filing is more efficient than a set of national filings. For a side by side view, see US vs EU Trademark: Which Should Your Business File First?.
How we help
We are an attorney led firm, working since 2016, with 11 in-house lawyers filing and managing trademarks across 100+ jurisdictions through national, regional and Madrid routes. A licensed attorney prepares your filing, drafts the goods and services, and handles examiner questions, and you see the plan and the flat legal fee before we file. Start with a US trademark filing or tell us your market list and we will map the order.
Related reading
- How Much Does It Cost to Trademark a Name in 2026? A Complete Breakdown
- Nice Classification: How to Choose the Right Trademark Classes
- Statement of Use (SOU): What It Is, When to File, and How to Avoid Abandonment
Sources
- USPTO: trademark application process
- EUIPO: fees payable direct to EUIPO
- UK IPO: trade mark forms and fees
- WIPO: the Madrid System
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I trademark my name or my logo first?
The name, as a word mark, in almost every case. A word mark protects the name in any font or color, so it keeps working when the logo is redesigned. Add the logo as a second filing once the design is settled.
Is there a single global trademark for a name?
No. You build protection country by country, or through a regional system like the EU trademark. The Madrid System lets you file one international application designating member countries, but each one still examines under its own law.
What do I need to use the Madrid System?
A basic application or registration in a home office that is a Madrid member. You file the international application through that office. WIPO checks formalities, records and publishes the mark, and notifies each designated country for examination.
Does a Madrid registration guarantee protection everywhere I designate?
No. Each designated country examines under its own law within a set refusal period, commonly 12 or 18 months. If no refusal is notified in that period, protection applies as if the mark were registered nationally.
How much does it cost to trademark a name in the US?
The USPTO government fee is $350 per class for the base application, plus legal fees. A two class application means two government fees. If you file on intent to use, the Statement of Use fee of $150 per class comes later.
Can I file a US application before I have used the name?
Yes. The US allows an intent to use basis. The registration issues only after you submit acceptable proof of use and pay the per class fees that go with it.
