Federal Registration of a Trademark
An Application for Federal Registration of a Trademark can be filed online with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
There are two (2) types of applications: a Use Application and Intend to Use Application.
There are the three (3) different Application forms and different payment options.
A Trademark search should be performed before filing an Application. It is a diagnostic.
There are two types of searches: a Federal and a Common Law search.
The USPTO website provides access to federal filings and searching capabilities of its database. It does not, however, contain a common law Trademark database.
Filing an Application without having a search performed is like “shooting in the dark.”
According to the USPTO, “Because searching is very complex, you should seriously consider hiring a Trademark attorney to assist you with a ‘full’ or ’comprehensive’ Trademark search.