Law-Forums.org

[elkanah1]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is (from what I know) where to officially register a trademark or patent. So, why should I go with LegalZoom.com?

[adamka]

Michael,

Yes, you are correct that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is where one needs to go to officially register a trademark or patent in the United States.

If you are comfortable with filling out government and/or legal forms, you can certainly do it yourself. Going this route for a trademark will cost you the USPTO filing fee of $325 (per application, per classification) plus the time and effort you will spend on the application and getting all your materials together (such as submitting specimens - examples of your trademark in use - to the USPTO).

For patents, it can get complicated as it depends on the type of patent you are looking to file (Provisional Application for Patent, Utility Patent or Design Patent) and the complexity of your invention. You'll want to be familiar with how patent descriptions & claims are written and be comfortable with producing technical drawings/illustrations of your invention. The USPTO filing fees for patents ranges from $110 to $850 depending on the type of patent.

If you are like most people and don't really want to do it on your own because you're unsure of the process or think that you'll make a mistake, LegalZoom.com can be a worthwhile service for registering a trademark or filing a patent. For example, if you use LegalZoom to register your trademark, LegalZoom will help you with the following:

* Conduct a "direct hit" search of the Federal trademark database for potential conflicts (that way, if a conflict is found and you decide not to proceed with the application filing, you won't be out the $325 USPTO filing fee which is non-refundable)
* Digitalization, color adjustment and compilation of your trademark specimens and/or designs
* Application is reviewed for spelling, grammar and consistency
* Application is formatted to meet USPTO standards
* Electronically file the trademark application with your approval

[stanciyf]

legalzoom is where you find the forms to file with the pto.