How to trademark a name in the United States

Trademarks identify the source of goods or services. Patents protect qualifying inventions, while copyright protects qualifying original works of authorship. A domain name and a business-name registration serve different functions.

Determine whether the asset you want to protect functions as a brand identifier.

Learn more about the differences between trademarks, patents, copyrights, and business names in Trademark Basics.

Stronger marks are generally more distinctive. The USPTO describes fanciful, arbitrary, and suggestive marks as stronger categories, while descriptive and generic wording is weaker or may be unregistrable.

Avoid assuming that a descriptive name is automatically better because customers immediately understand it. Ease of marketing and strength of legal protection are different considerations.

Read our beginner's explanation of strong and weak trademarks.

Determine the correct legal owner of the application. Decide whether the application concerns standard characters, a stylized or design form, or another permitted mark format.

Errors involving ownership or the mark drawing can be difficult to correct, so professional review may be appropriate.

Describe the goods or services accurately and select the corresponding classes. USPTO fees are generally calculated per class.

The free Zylmark Trademark Class Finder can help a novice browse official descriptions, while the signed-in workflow can suggest preliminary classes from a business description.

The application must identify an appropriate filing basis. Common U.S. bases include current use in commerce and a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. Other bases may apply to qualifying foreign applicants or registrations.

The requirements and timing differ. Review the current USPTO guidance or consult an attorney before selecting a basis.

For a plain-English overview, see choosing the right U.S. trademark filing basis.

Search federal records for exact and similar marks used with related goods or services. Then consider state, internet, marketplace, domain, and common-law sources.

Zylmark can organize a preliminary search of federal USPTO trademark records. This search does not cover state trademark records or unregistered common-law uses, and no search guarantees registration.

Continue with our guides to searching USPTO trademark records, searching beyond the exact name, checking whether a name is trademarked, and trademark clearance basics.

The USPTO currently accepts new trademark applications through Trademark Center. Applicants need the required account and identity-verification steps described by the USPTO.

U.S.-domiciled applicants may prepare and file their own applications directly through Trademark Center or work with a qualified trademark attorney. Applicants domiciled outside the United States must be represented before the USPTO by a U.S.-licensed attorney.

Check the current official application requirements and fee information immediately before filing because systems, forms, and fees can change.

After filing, the application receives a serial number and is assigned for examination. An examining attorney reviews legal requirements and searches for potentially conflicting federal marks.

If the USPTO issues an office action, the applicant must respond by the applicable deadline. Missing a deadline can cause abandonment.

Processing times can change. Check our current USPTO trademark processing times page for the latest published figures and official source date.

If the application is approved, the mark is published in the Trademark Official Gazette. Other parties have a period in which they may oppose or request additional time to oppose.

The next step depends partly on the filing basis. An intent-to-use application requires additional steps showing use before registration.

Registration is not the end of the process. Required maintenance filings and fees must be submitted at the applicable intervals, and the mark must continue to meet legal requirements.

Review the USPTO’s current federal registration maintenance guidance for the required filings, fees, and deadlines.

An attorney may help with searches, ownership, filing basis, goods and services, refusals, consent or coexistence issues, and enforcement questions. Foreign-domiciled applicants must be represented before the USPTO by a U.S.-licensed attorney.

Learn more about when to involve an attorney in a trademark clearance process.