Why register a trademark in different countries?
Registering your brand in one country gives you exclusive rights to use that name with regard to specific goods and services only in that country. For this reason, it is always advisable to develop your trademark protection strategy in line with your business strategy – that is, to seek trademark protection in all the countries where you intend to commercialise your products.
If you do not do so, your name or a similar one may be registered by third parties in those countries, possibly for similar or identical goods. Since you will not have exclusive trademark rights over this name in these jurisdictions, others will indeed be allowed to protect it via trade mark. This might lead consumers in this area to mistake someone else’s products for yours. Commercialising your own product in those jurisdictions under “your” name, but without securing exclusive rights to it, might even in this context constitute an infringement of those third parties’ rights.
Trademark registration fees tend to differ slightly between jurisdictions. Below we provide a breakdown of trademark registration costs across different countries.
Country | Application Fee ($USD) | Extra Class ($USD) |
|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 225(paper); 200(online) | 53 |
European Union | 1050 (paper); 900(online) | 50-150 |
United States | 250-350 | 100 |
China | 44 + agency fees | 4 |
How much does it cost to register a trademark in the United Kingdom?
The Application Fee for a trademark registration in the UK is £170 ($225) for online applications and £200 ($265) for paper applications. An extra class (category of goods and/or services) for each class above the one class already included in the base fee for a paper or online application will cost £50; a fee for an international application is £40 ($53.14) plus additional WIPO fees [1].
It should be noted that these costs do not include legal (attorney) fees for filing a UK application, tracking its progress, and responding to basic examination requests/questions, which are typically around $1,000.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in the European Union?
The EU Community trademark application includes protection for three classes, costing €900 for an electronic application and €1 050 for a paper application. The Amending Regulation sees the Office move to a one-class-per-fee system. This means that in practice applicants pay a lower fee if they only apply for one class, the same fee if they apply for two, and a higher fee if they apply for three or more. If the applicant chooses to apply for a trademark in two classes, the fee is increased by €50; each additional class thereafter is an extra €150. Renewal fees are substantially reduced in all instances and set to the same level as application fees, and there are also reductions in opposition, cancellation and appeal fees [2].
How much does it cost to register a trademark in the United States?
The USPTO charges a flat fee of either $250.00 (TEAS Plus) or $350.00 (TEAS Standard) per class of goods and services. This means that the USPTO doesn’t charge the applicant, per trademark, but rather according to how many different types of goods/services the applicant intends on selling under the trademark. There is also a TEASi, which enables applicants to file international protections. If the international application is based on one basic application or one basic registration, the fee is $100 per class based on the total number of classes in the international application [3].
Under the TEAS Plus trademark application, the trademark applicant is required to select the goods/services from a pre-set listing from the Trademark Identification Manual (TIM). Conversely, under the TEAS Standard trademark application, the trademark applicant can draft his/her own unique description of the goods services. Therefore, depending on the complexity of sold goods and services the applicant might either rely on the TIM or customize their description.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in China?
The cost for domestic registration with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA, previously the China Trademark Office - CTMO) is RMB 300 (approx. $44, excluding lawyer fees) for one class, covering up to 10 items of goods/services. An extra RMB 30 (approx. $4) is charged per additional item [4].
Foreigners and foreign enterprises are required to entrust trademark agencies to apply for trademark registration in China for them. The basic filing fee for trademark registration by a trademark agent/law firm in Mainland China is about $300 – 400 and upwards, depending on the service provider you use.
