BitLaw

202.03    Filing Fee for At Least One Class of Goods or Services

In an application under §1 or §44 of the Trademark Act, the applicant must pay the filing fee for at least one class of goods or services before an application can be given a filing date. 37 C.F.R. §2.21(a)(5).  The fee can be paid by credit card, check, money order, electronic funds transfer (EFT), or by an authorization to charge a deposit account. 37 C.F.R. §2.207.  See TMEP §§405 et seq. for additional information about fees.

The amount of the trademark application filing fee varies depending on whether the application is filed through TEAS or on paper.  An applicant has four choices.  The applicant can file:

• A paper application at the highest fee per class, set forth in 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(i);
• A regular TEAS application at the lower fee per class set forth in 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(ii);
• A TEAS RF application (see TMEP §820) at the lower fee per class set forth in 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iii); or
• A TEAS Plus application (see TMEP §§819 et seq.) at the lowest fee per class, set forth in 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iv).

See TMEP §§819 et seq. regarding TEAS Plus. See also notices at 70 Fed. Reg. 2952 (Jan. 19, 2005) and 70 Fed. Reg. 38768 (July 6, 2005).  The current fee schedule is available on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov.

The complete fee for at least a single class must be submitted with the application as filed.  Partial or piecemeal fee payments are unacceptable and will be returned.

If an application does not include a filing fee for at least a single class, the USPTO will deny a filing date. In re Buckhead Marketing & Distribution, Inc., 71 USPQ2d 1620 (Dir USPTO 2004); In re Paulsen, 35 USPQ2d 1638 (Comm’r Pats. 1995).  If a filing date has been granted when the USPTO discovers that the applicant has not paid the filing fee for at least a single class, the filing date will be cancelled. See TMEP §204.01.

See TMEP §§202.03(a) and 405.06 regarding payments that are refused or charged back by financial institutions, and TMEP §405.03 regarding deposit accounts.

The filing fee for a §66(a) application will be sent to the USPTO by the IB, pursuant to Article 8 of the Madrid Protocol.  Generally, the examining attorney should not require additional fees during examination, except where the application is divided due to a change in ownership with respect to some but not all of the goods/services.  See TMEP §810 for further information about application filing fees, and TMEP §§ 19.4 et seq. for further information about §66(a) applications.