Why are trademark so expensive?

Introduction

Trademarking your brand has become a necessity in the modern business world. If you don’t want to run into legal problems with your competitors, you need to make sure that your trademark is as strong as possible. In some ways, this makes sense: trademarks are one of the most important tools available to protect companies from competition and create value for customers by setting them apart. However, many companies underestimate just how expensive it can be to get started with trademarking their businesses—and why they should avoid trying do-it-yourself methods if they’re looking at starting from scratch or updating an existing application.

An expensive development

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design that identifies the source of a product or service. Trademarks are used to protect consumers against confusion about the origin of goods and services. When you see a McDonald’s sign on the side of your local restaurant, you know that you’ll get the same quality food and service at any other McDonald’s location around the world.

Trademarks are also used to prevent competitors from using similar marks in their advertising and marketing campaigns. A competitor may not use your mark in an advertisement unless they have permission from you (which they probably won’t get), so they’re forced to create new words or designs—or risk getting sued by you if they use yours without permission.

Developing trademarks takes time, money and legal experience because there are strict regulations surrounding them: what can be trademarked; how long it lasts before it expires; how long before it has to be renewed again (which can cost thousands of dollars).

Most applications are rejected

If a trademark is rejected, it can be for one of two reasons:

  • Lack of distinctiveness. A mark must be sufficiently distinctive to distinguish the goods or services from those of others and must not be generic (think “fast food” or “sports car”). The most common reason for rejection is lack of distinctiveness. If you want to register an adjective or descriptive term as a trademark, it will likely not be approved unless you can prove that there’s no other word in the English language that describes your product as well as yours does. For example, if you’re trying to get “snazzy” registered as your brand name so people will think of snazzy clothes when they see it, this may not work because there are many different words people might use instead—like “stylish,” “elegant,” or even just “clothes.” The PTO requires that trademarks have strong secondary meaning—that consumers would recognize them immediately upon seeing them on packaging or marketing materials—which means that companies need to invest more time and money into building brand awareness before paying thousands of dollars in legal fees each year just keep their trademarks active!
  • Likelihood confusion (or likelihood dilution). Even if we had some idea about how many trademarks were rejected by the PTO every year (a number which has been kept confidential since 2009), we’d probably still find ourselves wondering why these rejections happen at all given how much money goes into filing applications only for them get denied later down the road regardless! It turns out this happens because another company owns another mark with similar wording; either through direct competition between products sold under similar names (for example: Nike vs Adidas)

Most applications are abandoned

Many trademark application are abandoned by their owners. In the United States, about 70% of all trademarks filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are abandoned before they’re approved. This is a major reason why most trademarks cost so much: The USPTO charges fees every three months while they process an application, so even if you’re only paying $100 per quarter but your application will probably be abandoned after a few months (and there’s no guarantee that it won’t), you could end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees.

So why do people abandon their trademark applications? The most common reason is that they change their minds about using the mark in commerce—that is, using it on products or services offered for sale to consumers. Many businesses start out with vague ideas about what kind of product or service they’ll offer; sometimes these ideas change over time as the business develops. If your business decides not to use its trademark as originally intended (for example, if you decide not to make stuffed toy dogs after all), then filing for trademark protection might seem like an unnecessary waste of money. However, abandoning a trademark application does not mean that someone else can use your mark instead: A common myth among small businesses is that filing for federal trademark protection will prevent anyone from registering similar marks at state levels because federal registration takes precedence over state registration requirements—this isn’t true!

The price of peace of mind

It’s important to understand that trademark registration are expensive because you’re paying for an expert to navigate the most complex part of your business plan. Many businesses still try to do it themselves, which is why they end up with a bad trademark and spend thousands more fixing it.

The price of peace of mind is what you’ll pay when you hire a qualified trademark attorney who can help you make an informed decision about how best to protect your valuable brand.

Trademarks are expensive to get right. You are paying for an expert to navigate the most complex part of your business plan. That being said, many businesses still try to do it themselves.

So why are trademarks so expensive? Well, it’s because getting the trademark right is a very complicated process. You’re paying for an expert to navigate this complex part of your business plan. That being said, many businesses still try to do it themselves.

Conclusion

Trademarks are a crucial part of any business. They protect your brand and give you an edge over the competition. However, they can be difficult to get right because they’re so complex. The good news is that there are experts who know how to navigate this process in order to ensure that your trademark application succeeds!

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