The Service
What the Premium Filing adds to Standard.
The Premium Filing includes everything in the Standard Filing: strategic class selection, full application drafting and USPTO submission, attorney of record for the prosecution period, and procedural office action responses at no additional charge. What it adds is proactive brand defense from day one.
A registered trademark is a legal right, but it is not self-enforcing. The USPTO does not notify you when someone files a confusingly similar mark. A competitor can build brand equity on a name that conflicts with yours, and by the time you find out organically, the situation is far more expensive to resolve than if you had caught the filing early. Trademark monitoring is how you stay ahead of that problem.
The Premium Filing activates one year of trademark monitoring at the time of registration. The watch service scans for new USPTO filings that are similar to your mark in your relevant classes, as well as infringing commercial use in the market. Quarterly reports surface anything that requires attention, and Armani is reachable directly when something needs an immediate response.
For high-growth brands, brands in competitive markets, and any business where copycat risk is real, the Premium Filing is the right choice. It is the same filing cost as Standard with active protection built in from registration forward.
What's Included
Everything in Standard, plus active monitoring.
Who It's For
For brands where the name is the business.
The Premium Filing is the right choice any time copycat risk is real, the market is competitive, or the brand is growing fast enough to attract imitators. These are the situations it is built for.
Process
From filing to active protection, step by step.
Submit your mark, your goods and services, your business context, and any existing clearance search. Armani reviews every submission before anything is filed.
Armani identifies the right trademark classes for your business, drafts the identification of goods and services, and prepares your application for submission.
Your application is submitted to the USPTO. Armani is designated as your attorney of record, and your nationwide priority date is established from the moment of filing.
If the USPTO examiner issues a procedural office action, Armani handles the response at no additional charge. All deadlines are managed so nothing falls through the cracks.
Once your mark is registered and your certificate is delivered, the one-year monitoring service activates. The watch service begins scanning for conflicting USPTO filings and infringing commercial use in your market.
Every quarter you receive a watch report summarizing what was detected and what, if anything, requires a response. If enforcement is needed, Premium clients receive a discounted rate on cease and desist letters.
Pricing
Filing plus active defense. Cheaper than buying both separately.
USPTO fees: The $350 per-class fee is the USPTO government filing fee, paid directly to the USPTO at the time of filing. Additional classes each carry their own $350 USPTO fee, and the attorney fee increases by $250 per additional class. Monitoring activates upon registration, not upon filing. Substantive office actions are handled separately. See the Office Action Response page for details.
Get Started
Ready to file and monitor? Start here.
Complete the intake form to get started. A full year of monitoring and quarterly watch reports included.
FAQ
Questions about the Premium Filing.
TThe filing process is identical. The Premium Filing adds one year of trademark monitoring and quarterly watch reports once your mark is registered, for a $200 higher attorney fee than Standard. If you are in a competitive market, experiencing growth, or simply want to know when someone files a mark similar to yours, the Premium Filing is the better choice. The monitoring service alone runs $300 per year separately, so the Premium tier costs less than buying filing and monitoring as separate services.
Monitoring activates upon registration of your trademark, not upon filing. The USPTO examination process typically takes 8 to 12 months, so monitoring generally begins within that timeframe. Once your certificate is issued, the one-year watch period starts and quarterly reports are generated from that point forward.
The watch service monitors two things. First, new USPTO trademark applications that are similar to your registered mark in your relevant classes. Catching a conflicting filing at the application stage gives you the opportunity to file an opposition before it registers, which is far cheaper and more effective than trying to cancel an existing registration later. Second, the service monitors for infringing commercial use in the market, including use that has not gone through the USPTO. Quarterly reports summarize what was detected and what level of response, if any, is warranted.
The monitoring period can be renewed annually at the standard monitoring rate. At the end of your first year, Armani will advise on renewal. Many clients continue monitoring indefinitely, particularly as their brand grows and the value of the registered mark increases. Monitoring is the difference between owning a trademark and actively defending one.
It depends on what was detected and how serious the conflict is. If a confusingly similar mark was just filed with the USPTO, you have the option to file an opposition during the 30-day opposition window after publication. If someone is using a similar name commercially without a registration, a cease and desist letter is typically the first step. Premium clients receive a discounted rate on cease and desist letters. Armani will assess each situation and advise on the appropriate response in your quarterly report or sooner if the situation is urgent.
Yes, the same recommendation applies here as with the Standard Filing. A clearance search before filing identifies any conflicts that could result in a refused application or infringement risk. Clients who complete the Go/No-Go Search first receive a discounted rate on the Premium Filing. If you are ready to proceed directly, Armani can work with you on that basis, but the search is the recommended first step.