My first trademark application was filed 19 years ago this week. There was no online filing at the time. I took the application a few miles down the road to the USPTO offices by hand to submit it and get it “stamped” with a filing date.
Somethings have changed — online filing is now nearly ubiquitous; government fees have changed; USPTO offices have moved ;the number of applications filed annually has grown tremendously; I’ve gone from a simple website that I coded myself to a plethora of online video, audio, and blog content; my brand has evolved from TMarksman to tm4smallbiz® to Making trademarks bloom since 1999® — yet many things have stayed the same:
- the application process still takes about 1 year on average;
- the core USPTO examination rules and procedures are the same;
- the USPTO’s database of pending and registered trademarks is the same;
- I still charge flat fees for every single application that I filed; and
- the cost of trademark registration remains an incredibly valuable investment for any business
In those 19 years, I have filed more than 4,000 trademark applications for clients. And my clients have received mroe than 2,900 USPTO registration certificates.
A December 30, 1999 trademark application page:
