A Primer on the USPTO’s 2025 Trademark Application and Fee Updates

On January 18, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plans to introduce significant new changes and fees for trademarks to streamline and improve the trademark application and maintenance process.   Updates that will likely have the most considerable impact on applicants and mark holders include increased fees, the elimination of the TEAS Plus application, and new penalties for incomplete applications.    

Increased Fees

The USPTO is increasing the fees for just about every trademark-related filing.  The chart below shows some of the most notable fee increases.

Elimination of the TEAS Plus Application

Previously, the USPTO allowed two types of new trademark applications: a TEAS Plus application, where an applicant selected previously approved descriptions from the USPTO’s Trademark ID Manual to describe the applied-for goods and/or services, and a TEAS Standard application, where an applicant came up with new descriptions.  The USPTO’s new updates eliminate the TEAS Plus system altogether.  Instead, all applicants will now pay a base fee of $350/class (the equivalent of the old TEAS Plus application) plus an additional fee of $200/class to craft descriptions from outside the Trademark ID Manual (the equivalent to the old TEAS Standard application).  An additional fee of $200 per 1,000 characters will kick in for applicants using free-form text that exceeds 1,000 characters.  These changes seek to encourage applicants to use pre-approved descriptions and to keep any new descriptions as concise as possible.    

Penalty for Insufficient Information

Whereas applicants didn’t used to face consequences for submitting an incomplete application (aside from the time it took to resubmit), the USPTO now imposes a penalty of $100/class if an application is missing any of the 19 required pieces of information.  This new fee seeks to encourage the careful and thorough preparation of trademark filings.

The hope is that these new updates, while significant, could result in expedited processing for the USPTO and applicants alike.  That said, applicants may wish to reevaluate their trademark strategies in light of the changes, including selecting descriptions from the Trademark ID Manual when practicable and keeping any free-form descriptions as concise as possible. 

Our firm regularly advises clients on and litigates trademark issues, including helping companies and brands select and maintain trademarks.  Feel free to contact us if we can be of help.