Gas prices aren't the only costs going down: USPTO reducing trademark filing fees in 2015

Effective January 17, 2015, certain trademark filing fees will be reduced.

In an effort to lower costs and promote efficiency for customers, in May 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposed reducing certain trademark fees. According to Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Michelle K. Lee, “lower fees will lessen the burden for entrepreneurs to obtain the crucial trademark protection they need to grow their businesses, while increased electronic processing improves agency efficiency.”

In December 2014, the USPTO published the final rule in the Federal Register regarding the reduction of certain trademark fees. Notably, electronic trademark application filing fees will be reduced by $50 per class, whether the application is filed as a standard electronic filing or as part of the USPTO’s TEAS-Plus program where the applicant uses previously-accepted goods and services wording. Thus, a standard electronic filing is now $275 per class and a TEAS-Plus electronic filing is now $225 per class. Also, the government fee for renewing a registration will be reduced from $400 to $300 per class.

A breakdown of the changes can be found at the USPTO website.