What Is a Trademark
A trademark is your legal right to own your brand.
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these that identifies the source of goods or services and distinguishes them from those of competitors. When you register a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you receive exclusive nationwide rights to use that mark in connection with your goods or services, and the legal standing to stop others from using something confusingly similar.
Common misconception: Registering an LLC or DBA does not give you trademark rights. It tells the state your business exists. A federal trademark registration gives you exclusive rights to the name across all 50 states and the legal tools to enforce them.
Trademarks can protect business names, product names, logos, slogans, and in some cases sounds, colors, and trade dress. The scope of protection depends on what you register and in which international classes of goods and services.
Federal registration with the USPTO is the gold standard. It creates a public record of ownership, gives you the right to use the registered trademark symbol, provides access to federal courts for infringement claims, and gives you priority over anyone who attempts to use a similar mark after your filing date.
Why You Need One
Five reasons every business needs federal registration.
Who We Help
Trademark services built for the people building things.
Madison Trademark Solutions works with founders, creators, and businesses at every stage of growth. Federal trademark practice is not limited by geography, which means we file with the USPTO on behalf of clients across the country.
How It Works
From first call to registered mark, step by step.
The first step is a 1-on-1 call with Armani to discuss your brand, your business, and your goals. This is where we determine which services make sense for where you are today and where you are headed.
Before anything is filed, a comprehensive clearance search covers federal USPTO records, state registrations, and common law use. You receive a legal opinion on risk and availability. Skipping this step is one of the most expensive mistakes a brand can make.
Armani selects the correct trademark classes, drafts your identification of goods and services using USPTO-approved language, and submits your application. Your nationwide priority date is established the moment the application is filed.
The USPTO examiner reviews your application, typically within 8 to 10 months of filing. If a procedural office action is issued, Armani handles the response at no additional charge. Substantive office actions are handled separately at a disclosed flat fee.
Once approved by the examiner, your mark is published in the Official Gazette for 30 days. Third parties may file an opposition if they believe your mark conflicts with theirs. Most applications proceed without opposition.
Your registration certificate is issued, and your mark appears in the USPTO database. From here, ongoing protection depends on monitoring, maintenance filings, and enforcement against infringers. Armani provides guidance on each of these at every renewal milestone.
Our Services
Every trademark service, priced upfront.
All services are flat-fee. You know the full cost before any work begins. Government filing fees are listed separately because they are paid directly to the USPTO and are not our markup.
Why Madison Trademark Solutions
What makes us different from every other option.
Most trademark services fall into one of two categories: online filing platforms that let you file yourself with minimal guidance, or large law firms that bill by the hour. Madison Trademark Solutions is neither.
Flat-fee pricing, always
You know the full cost before any work begins. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices at the end of a matter. Every service has a disclosed flat fee, and government filing fees are listed separately because they are paid directly to the USPTO and are not our markup.
You work directly with the attorney
When you engage Madison Trademark Solutions, you work directly with Armani Madison Estriplet, Esq. Not a paralegal, not a case manager, not a screener. The attorney who knows your brand is the one protecting it and answering your questions.
IP is the only practice
Trademark and copyright is all we do. Armani completed her J.D. with a concentration in Intellectual Property at New England Law Boston, and her background includes regulatory consulting in the fintech sector. She brings focused legal knowledge and industry fluency to every engagement.
Federal practice, nationwide clients
Trademark and copyright are federal matters. Armani files with the USPTO and USCO on behalf of clients across all 50 states. Geography does not limit representation, and the entire engagement happens remotely with no friction.
FAQ
Common questions about trademark registration.
A trademark protects brand identifiers: names, logos, slogans, and other marks that distinguish your goods or services in the marketplace. A copyright protects original creative works: books, artwork, code, music, and other authored content. A patent protects inventions and functional designs. Most businesses need both trademark and copyright protection, and some need all three. The right combination depends on what you have built.
No. An Intent-to-Use application under Section 1(b) of the Lanham Act allows you to file a trademark application based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. This reserves your priority date before you launch, which is often the smartest move for founders, pre-launch brands, and businesses in product development. You submit proof of use later, once the mark is in actual commercial use.
The USPTO currently processes most trademark applications in approximately 8 to 12 months from the filing date to first office action or approval. If an office action is issued and requires a response, the timeline extends. Intent-to-Use applications have additional steps that add time. Total time from filing to registration is typically 12 to 18 months for a straightforward application. We provide a realistic estimate based on your specific situation during the consultation.
The USPTO uses an international classification system with 45 classes of goods and services. Your registration protects your mark only in the classes you file in. Filing in the right classes is one of the most important decisions in the trademark process. Filing in too few leaves you exposed. Filing in too many creates problems at examination and renewal. Armani reviews your goods, services, and growth plans to identify the right classes before anything is filed. The $350 USPTO filing fee applies per class, plus an additional $250 attorney fee for each additional class.
An office action is a letter from the USPTO examiner raising questions or objections about your application. Procedural office actions cover things like specimen issues, identification language problems, or disclaimer requirements. These are included in your Standard or Premium Filing at no additional charge. Substantive office actions cover things like likelihood of confusion with an existing registration, descriptiveness refusals, or surname refusals. These require more involved legal work and are handled at a separately disclosed flat fee through our Office Action Response service.
The TM symbol can be used by anyone to indicate a claim of trademark rights, even without federal registration. It carries no legal presumptions and does not require any government filing. The registered trademark symbol may only be used once your trademark is federally registered with the USPTO. Using it before registration is a federal violation. Once you are registered, the registered symbol puts the world on notice that your mark is protected under federal law.
A federal trademark registration can last indefinitely as long as you continue using the mark and file the required maintenance documents on time. Between the 5th and 6th year after registration, you must file a Section 8 declaration of use. Between the 9th and 10th year, and every 10 years after that, you file a combined Section 8 and 9 renewal. Missing these deadlines results in cancellation of your registration. We track these deadlines and handle renewal filings as a separate flat-fee service.
Yes. Trademark is federal law. Armani files with the USPTO, which is a federal agency that serves clients in all 50 states. Her Minnesota bar license is her home state admission, but federal trademark practice has no geographic limitation. We work with clients remotely across the country, including in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, and beyond.