The Best Trademark Registration Services

Tuesday, December 1st

2020 Trademark Registration Service Reviews

Legal Zoom

• Cost: Trademark packages start at $199, plus all federal filing fees

LegalZoom was created to make legal help more accessible and affordable to all Americans, not just those who could pay the steep fees of a local attorney. Originally starting with estate planning, business formation and intellectual property services, this company has grown over the last 20 years to include a broad range of topics and nearly 4 million customers.

LegalZoom's Trademark Registration process is simple and streamlined. Start by filling out their easy online questionnaire, and send them an image of your business logo (if you have one). There's no extra charge for asking them to do a logo search, unlike some of the companies we reviewed.

Next, LegalZoom will conduct a search to determine if there are any conflicts with other existing trademarks. If there's no conflict and you decide to continue with your application, you'll use LegalZoom's software, LegalZip, to create your trademark paperwork. When that's finished, you'll get a copy emailed to you for your electronic signature. Once that's signed, LegalZoom will file your application and any applicable supporting materials to the USPTO; you'll receive a serial number and confirmation in your email.

Finally, the USPTO reviews your application and determines if your trademark is eligible for registration. If so, congratulations: your trademark has been approved for registration, and you'll receive a certificate or Notice of Allowance from the USPTO within 12 weeks of publication.

LegalZoom offers two main packages for their Trademark Registration services:

• Basic ($199) - you'll get a basic trademark search plus a discount if you opt for a more comprehensive search, "Peace of Mind" review that looks at your logo images for quality, email delivery of your application, and filing your completed application with the USPTO
• Complete ($219) - for just $20 more, you'll get everything in the Basic package plus a Cease and Desist Letter package, a Trademark Assignment Agreement (if you need to transfer rights/ownership sometime in the future), an electronic copy of your application, and a 30-day free trial of LegalZoom's Business Advisory Plan.

When we created a user account with LegalZoom, we were able to access a much more detailed list of available services, especially with respect to their more comprehensive trademark searches:

• Federal/State/Common Law Search ($299) - includes Trademark search, coordinated classes, ranked results, plus corporate names, state trademarks, common law trademarks, and internet domain names
• WorldScan International Search ($499) - everything from the previous package, plus a search of pending and registered international trademarks in Canada, the UK, the European Community, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

We liked that we could see customer feedback specifically describing their experiences with registering a trademark using LegalZoom; at the time of our review, their rating was 4.7 out of 5 stars over nearly 4,000 ratings from people who used their trademark registration services. Customers said that the entire process was very easy to understand, and that the help they got from LegalZoom's customer support team was excellent. It's worth noting that LegalZoom prides itself on offering help from agents based in the United States, with generous availability hours from 5am-7pm Pacific Time on weekdays and 7am-4pm on weekends.

LegalZoom also has a fantastic satisfaction guarantee: if you're not happy with any part of the Trademark Registration process, give them a call. They'll either fix the problem, offer a refund, or provide you with a credit to be used for other LegalZoom services.

LegalZoom offers affordable, robust trademark registration services with customer representatives that stand at the ready to help. With an "A+" rating at the BBB and more than a million customers since they first opened their online doors, LegalZoom easily sets the bar for excellence. LegalZoom earns our highest rating.

Tradmark Center

• Cost: Trademark packages start at $300 for Trademark Search/Filing, plus federal fees

As part of the services offered by the law firm of Patel & Almeida, Trademark Center has an excellent reputation that spans more than 20 years. As an accredited, "A+" rated business with the BBB, this Trademark Registration service offers a comprehensive array of options for your business. These services include Trademark Search and Registration, Trademark Watch, and even international registration of your trademark.

What does Trademark Center charge for these services? You can choose between package options or a la carte services. Trademark Search/Registration packages include:

• Standard - for $300 (plus filing fees), you'll get a Federal Direct Hit search, drafting/filing of the application, a year of quarterly federal trademark watch services, consultation with a trademark attorney, and responses to any non-substantive office actions
• Premium - for $495 (plus filing fees), you'll get all of the services included in the Standard packages, plus a more comprehensive trademark search (Federal/State/Common Law) and a legal opinion on your desired trademark

Trademark Search a la carte options include:

• US Extensive Full Availability Search - $295
• US/Canada Full Availability Search - $395
• Design Logo Search - $400
• European Community Search - $450

Trademark Watch a la carte options include:

• US Federal with monthly reports - $150/year
• US Federal/State with monthly reports - $200/year
• Worldwide with monthly reports - $300/year

As you can see, this Trademark Registration service wants you to get exactly what you need. As a big added bonus, Trademark Center offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, with a full refund if you're not satisfied with their service for any reason.

We also recommend that you take a look at the Learning Center by clicking on the link at the top of the site. There, you'll find lots of helpful information about trademarks in general, FAQs, and in-depth information about registration of trademarks in other countries. If you still have questions, you can request a complimentary consultation with a Trademark Center representative at any time by clicking on the green button on the right-hand side of the page.

Trademark Center doesn't have the cheapest Trademark Registration services on the market, but they are well worth the cost based on what you get for your money: decades of expertise, an excellent reputation, the ability to choose the specific services you need, and an unparalleled satisfaction guarantee. Trademark Center is one of our top choices for Trademark Registration.

My Corporation

• Cost: Trademark pricing starts at $199, plus filing fees

My Corporation specializes in helping small business owners with every legal aspect of starting up and running their companies, as you might have guessed from their tagline, "Entrepreneurs welcome".

When it comes to Trademark Registration services, you'll find the three main categories well represented at My Corporation:

• Trademark Search: makes sure that there are no similar trademarks currently registered or pending, so that your desired trademark is unique
• Trademark Registration: files your application with the USPTO, to protect your brand slogan/name/logo/symbol
• Trademark Watch: keeps an eye on any new applications to the USPTO, to make sure your trademark isn't infringed upon

Figuring out what you'll need and how much you'll spend can be tricky using the My Corporation site. In general, you can expect to pay $199 (plus filing fees) for Trademark Registration, $249 to conduct a trademark search, and $175 to protect your trademark for one year. If you want "extras" like searching for or registering a design and/or logo (not just plain text), expect to pay more. You can find out the specific costs for each of your needs in the "Pricing Details" link at the bottom of each type of trademark service.

Fortunately, My Corporation is well-known for offering excellent customer service: they enjoy an "A+" rating at the Better Business Bureau with no complaints filed over their 18-year history, and at the time of this review 91% of their previous customers rated the company as either "great" or "excellent". Lots of people praised the patient, knowledgeable customer service representatives at My Corporation.

Plus, we really enjoy the way this Trademark Registration service lays out helpful information for the average prospective client. Be sure to look for the FAQs on each section of trademark services (usually at the bottom of the page), as well as videos like "Protecting Your Intellectual Property" (we found that one on the Trademark vs. Copyright "Learn More" page).

Overall, My Corporation delivers accurate Trademark Registration and other related services, their pricing is fair, and they offer great customer service to help you through the process.

Trademark Factory

• Cost: Packages start at $1995
• Free comprehensive trademark search

As one of the newest Trademark Registration services on the market, Trademark Factory has one of the most unique "how we got started" stories we've ever seen. Andrei Mincov started out as a Russian copyright lawyer two decades ago; his father, a famous composer, heard his music being used by a big-name company without his permission, and his son was inspired to act. Many years later, Mincov has worked with many individuals and companies, including names you'd recognize (but you'll have to check out Trademark Factory's "Why Us" page to find out who).

Since 2015, Mincov has specialized in Trademark Registration, bringing on a team of experts who work together to offer some unique features compared with other services on the market.

First, Trademark Factory offers a free, comprehensive trademark search in all of their packages: no nickel-and-dime here. You'll also get a 100% money-back guarantee on their two highest-end packages: if you're told that your trademark can be registered but it's rejected for any reason, you'll get a full refund.

You can speak with a Trademark Factory rep with no obligation. Look for the red "FREE CALL" button at the top of the page. Otherwise, you can jump right to the process of Trademark Registration under the Apply Now tab by entering details about your brand and where you want to protect it (i.e. US or Canada), and make your payment. Within 2 business days, the service will let you know if your brand is trademarkable. If so, they'll move forward with your application. If not, you can opt for a full refund, select a new brand to trademark (with free registrability checks on any additional brands), or have Trademark Factory file your application anyway.

We really liked that, even on the page where you enter your business info, you get a popup explaining how it works and (again) offering you the chance to "speak with a real person first". There's no hard sell: Trademark Factory wants you to understand the process and your options, with no gimmicks or bait-and-switch techniques.

Finally, the most unique feature of Trademark Factory's registration services is their all-inclusive flat fee. They offer three packages to choose from - but steel yourself, because the price tag may take your breath away:

• "I Feel Lucky" Package, $1995. This gives you up to 90 minutes of follow-up work, but no money-back guarantee or weekly monitoring or defense of your trademark in any opposition proceedings.
• "All-Inclusive" Package, $2995. You'll get unlimited follow-up correspondence and the money-back guarantee if your trademark doesn't go through.
• "Ultimate" Package, $5995. You'll receive all of the features of the All-Inclusive, plus defense of your trademark in opposition proceedings, along with lifetime weekly monitoring of any newly-filed trademark applications that might be too similar to your own brand.

None of those packages include any government fees you'll pay for Trademark Registration. Also, FYI, the small print at the bottom of the pricing breakdown says that Trademark Factory offers both volume discounts for multiple trademarks, as well as payment plans.

Is it worth the investment? That's a call that only you can make. When it comes to reputation, Trademark Factory is doing well: an A+ rating with the BBB in Canada and zero registered complaints there in the 3 years since their file was opened. And, at the time of our review, they had done more than 3000 free trademark searches, filed over 1000 trademarks (with only 8 refusals), and had 610+ "happy clients".

If you expect your case to be complicated, it might also be worth the higher fees. We recommend that you watch the video on the Trademark Factory site called "The Deadly Danger of Low Trademark Fees"; we found it on the pricing page. You might also appreciate the Resources tab, with FAQs about Trademarks, a 5-minute quiz to help you determine if you need to trademark your brand, and more.

Overall, we love everything about Trademark Factory - except the extremely high fees, especially when compared with other Trademark Registration services. If you've got that kind of money to spend and you want someone to handle everything from start to finish, this may be the service for you. But, for many business owners, especially those who are just starting out and want to get their trademark registered, the sticker shock will probably be enough to push them in the direction of the less costly options in our review.

Trademark Express

• Cost: Starting at $400, depending on package level selected, plus filing fees

TradeMark Express has been in business for over 25 years, and their reputation as a provider of Trademark Registration services is solid. The BBB gives the accredited company a flawless "A+" rating. Customers also have great things to say about the personalized service received from owner Chris DeMassa and his team, which can be especially helpful for companies that need a little extra attention while going through the process.

Unfortunately, the TradeMark Express website continues to be difficult to navigate. Finding out what services you'll need and how much you'll spend isn't easy, with lengthy blocks of text that are hard to understand. Here are some of the basics:

• TradeMark Express Start Up Package: for $400, the service will search for your desired trademark in all pending and registered State and Federal trademark files, as well as the US National Common-Law files. It's important to note that this package does NOT include any filing services.
• TradeMark Application Preparation Package: for $400, the company will double-check any legal research you've already done and file your Trademark Registration.
• TradeMark Express Premium Package: for $600, you'll get both the research and the filing done for you.

Be aware that, like most Trademark Registration services, TradeMark Express doesn't include federal filing fees in their package costs.

A unique feature that TradeMark Express offers is a rollover policy: if you submit a name for trademarking that winds up being already in use, you can apply any remaining funds towards research of a new domain name. We appreciate this approach, but by the same token, many of their competitors will conduct that research at no extra charge if they determine that your original trademark isn't available or a good choice.

While we think TradeMark Express could do a better job of clearly showing prospective clients what to expect, we still give their service high marks for maintaining a good reputation over more than two decades. This is probably a great choice for business owners who want one-on-one attention as they navigate the process of Trademark Registration.

Rocket Lawyer

• Cost: Free 7-day trial, $39.99/month for membership plan

RocketLawyer has helped over 20 million people to get access to free legal documents ranging from Wills to Incorporation. You can use RocketLawyer free for 7 days; monthly membership costs $39.99 and gives you access to all of the legal documents in their database.

With respect to Trademark Registration, they offer a free Trademark Application worksheet. You'll start by choosing your state in the dropdown box, then answering some basic questions about your business. You'll see the worksheet updating at the bottom of the page as you enter each piece of information. Finally, you'll need to create an account by entering an email address and password, in order to save the document.

Then what? That's a great question. RocketLawyer doesn't offer much personalized help when it comes to Trademark Registration. If you purchase their Premium Membership, you can get "quick legal advice" from their network of on-call lawyers, and a 30-minute consultation, but that's it. Everything else you'll need to do to register your trademark? Plan on it being very DIY.

In fact, other than an appendix listing all of the USPTO filing fees (as of May 2013?!) on the final page of your Worksheet, you won't find anything telling you what to do next, what to expect, and so on. Plus, there's nothing to indicate that you should do a Trademark Search before filing, to make sure that no other company has registered a similar trademark previously.

While we are totally on board with Rocket Lawyer's premise - giving the average person inexpensive access to legal documents, with no need to pay the high fees charged by an attorney - their service just doesn't seem very helpful when it comes to something as technical as Trademark Registration. Although you'll spend more, you'll probably feel more reassured by choosing one of the more robust service packages offered by the higher-ranked services we reviewed.

Trademark Plus

• Cost: $99 for filing a trademark with the USPTO
• $149 for filing, trademark search, cease and desist letter, and transfer/assignments
• $249 for complete package that includes unlimited customer support

Trademark Plus advertises some of the least expensive Trademark Registration services on the market. Here's what you can expect with each of their three packages:

• Basic - for $99 (plus federal filing fees), you'll get your trademark e-filed and receive an email confirmation once your application has been submitted
• Standard - for $149 (plus federal filing fees), your trademark registration will be e-filed, and you'll also get an in-depth trademark search, a cease and desist letter in the event that anyone attempts to infringe on your trademark in the future, and a transfer/assignment letter in case you ever need to change legal ownership of your trademark
• Complete - for $249 (plus federal filing fees), you'll get all of the benefits of the first two packages, along with unlimited customer support

Looking at the Trademark Plus website, it sounds like they're doing a great job. At the time of our review, they claimed to have completed 43,574 cases with more than 100,000 happy customers. However, checking out their reputation with the Better Business Bureau, we found a very different story.

The BBB gives this service an abysmal "F" grade. Why? According to their records, mail sent to the company's Illinois address was returned to the BBB as undeliverable almost two years ago. Customer complaints filed with the BBB say that they paid their fees, got nothing in return, and couldn't get a response from the company when looking for a refund.

Yes, the services offered by Trademark Plus are much cheaper than many of their competitors. But, low fees don't do you any good if you get absolutely nothing for them.

For all of these reasons, we strongly suggest you try one of the more reputable, established Trademark Registration services in our review.