2021 Fees: The Good News
As you know, here at the Law Offices of Gretchen McCord, we greatly value our relationships with our clients, and we pride ourselves on being sensitive to our clients’ budgetary constraints.
It is standard business practice to raise fees annually to at least be on par with inflation. In this firm, we typically raise our rates every other year, and 2021 would have been that year. However, I know that many of you have suffered financially from the economic fall-out of the pandemic, as have we. As a small business owner myself – and, honestly, as a human being – I cannot imagine raising rates at a time like this.
Therefore, as my way of helping us all recovery, our fees will remain the same in 2021 as they have been for the past year.
2021 Fees: The Bad News
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for some of the vendors with whom we work.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be increasing many of its filing fees, effective January 2, 2021. Although these fees have been under review for quite some time, the decision to proceed with raising fees in the midst of an economy devastated by a worldwide pandemic is greatly disappointing, to say the least.
Both our fees and PTO filing fees are based on the number of classes (categories) in which goods and/or services are claimed. The primary changes are:
- Application to register a trademark: $350/class, up from $275
- Combined Declaration of Continued Use and Incontestability (5-6 years after registration): $425/class, up from $325
- Combined Declaration of Use and Renewal (every 10 years after registration): $525/class, up from $425
Fees for filing a petition to cancel a registration or notice to oppose an application with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board will also go up, from $400/class to $600/class.
Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you in 2021!