The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) could see fewer trademark applications filed in numerous Classes with lengthy descriptions of goods and services as a result of an increase in trademark fees and new surcharges that went into effect January 17, 2025.

An Overview of the Fee Increases

In general, the filing fees have increased for nearly all filings, and the amount of increase varies widely, ranging from as little as 8% up to 200%. However, it’s likely not the fee increases that will deter applicants, but rather the new surcharges the USPTO has established.

Changes to Note

New application filing fees will incur a per Class surcharge for the following:

• Submission of an incomplete application will result in a $100 per Class surcharge.
• Using the free-form text field instead of using the pre-approved, drop-down list of goods and services from the Trademark ID Manual will result in a $200 per Class surcharge.
• Providing excessively lengthy descriptions of goods or services: $200 fee (per Class) for each additional block of 1,000 characters used in the ID.

The USPTO will no longer offer the TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard filing options. There will be a “Base Application Fee” of $350 per Class for all applications, subject to the above surcharges.

As an example of the change, consider a 4-Class Application with a lengthy 5,000 character description of goods and services using the free-form text field. The filing fee prior to January 17, 2025, would total $1,400. The new filing fee hits $1,400 just based on the 4 Classes at $350 per Class. There is then another $200 charge per Class for free-form text ($800) and an additional $800 per Class for 4,000 characters above the 1,000 maximum limit ($3,200), bringing the total to $5,400.

For trademark applicants sensitive to price, it’s clear that there’s merit in scaling back the number of Classes applied-for, as well as keeping the description of goods/services concise.

Practitioner Considerations

To avoid surcharge fees, trademark attorneys will need to meticulously review applications to ensure they are thorough, include sufficient details, and comply with the new USPTO rules. They will need to draft concise descriptions of goods and services, avoiding redundant or unnecessary items that would surpass the character limit. It’s often said it takes longer to write shorter, so attorneys will need to factor that in when considering how long it might take to prepare an application.