Registering a US trademark from abroad
Trademark registration is the one area in this cluster where a non-resident cannot self-file, and where the preparatory work matters more than the filing.
The US counsel requirement
Foreign-domiciled applicants are generally required to be represented by a licensed US attorney in trademark matters before the USPTO.
This is not optional and it is not a service upsell. Filings made without qualifying representation can be refused. Budget for attorney fees alongside the government fee from the outset.
What a trademark covers
A trademark protects a brand identifier — a name, logo, slogan — used in connection with specified goods or services.
It does not protect an idea, a business model, a piece of software or a product design. Those fall under patent, copyright or design rights, which are separate systems entirely.
Crucially, protection is bounded by the classes you register in. A mark registered for software does not automatically cover clothing. Registering too narrowly leaves gaps; registering too broadly costs money and may be challenged on non-use.
We prepare the schedules and bookkeeping, and a licensed US professional signs where the law requires it.
Avail our US tax desk servicesSearch before you file
A clearance search is the highest-value step in the process and the one most often skipped to save money.
The search looks for existing registrations and applications that could block yours, including marks that are similar rather than identical in classes that overlap. It costs a fraction of responding to an office action and a tiny fraction of rebranding after launch.
Filing over an existing mark does not just waste the fee. It can attract an opposition, and in the worst case a demand from a rights holder after you have built a customer base under the name.
Use matters
US trademark rights are closely tied to use in commerce. Applications are typically based either on actual use or on a genuine intention to use, and the registration process expects evidence of use at the appropriate stage.
A mark registered and never used is vulnerable. This has practical implications for founders who want to reserve a portfolio of names in advance — the system is not designed to accommodate that.
Align the owner with the entity
Register the mark in the name of the entity that will actually use it. A mark held personally while the company trades under it creates a licensing question nobody documented, and it surfaces during due diligence at exactly the wrong moment.
Get the ownership right at filing. Assignments later are possible but add cost and create a chain of title someone will eventually have to verify.
Choose the filing basis you can prove
Identify the owner before filing and describe goods or services in the correct classes. A use-based application needs qualifying interstate-commerce use and a proper specimen; an intent-to-use application postpones that proof but adds later steps and fees. A logo screenshot, domain registration or company certificate is not automatically an acceptable specimen of trademark use.
Search federal records for wording, sound and meaning, then consider common-law and state use. Track office actions, opposition publication, statements of use and post-registration maintenance deadlines. Do not transfer the application informally between founders and a company: ownership errors can be difficult or impossible to cure. Preserve dated evidence showing the mark as customers actually encounter it.
Sources
This guide is written against the official and clearly labelled professional references below. Rates, thresholds and portal procedures change between reviews, so open the primary source before relying on a figure.
Questions people also ask
Do I need a US attorney to file?
Foreign-domiciled applicants are generally required to be represented by a licensed US attorney in trademark matters before the USPTO. This is a rule rather than a recommendation, so budget for it.
What does a trademark actually protect?
A brand identifier used in connection with specified goods or services. It does not protect an idea, a business model or a product design, and protection is limited to the classes you register in.
Why does a clearance search matter so much?
Because filing over an existing mark wastes the fee and can attract a dispute. A search before filing costs a fraction of an office action response and considerably less than a rebrand.
Does registering my company name protect it?
No. Forming an entity with a state and registering a trademark are unrelated. A company name in Wyoming gives you no trademark rights, and someone else may already hold the mark.
How long does registration take?
Months rather than weeks, and longer if an office action is issued. Start well before a launch that depends on the brand.
Send the tax year and the transaction or filing involved, and we will tell you what is actually required.
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