Plan Ahead. Get a Strategy. Protect What You’ve Built.
You’ve built something worth protecting. The IP Assessment & Action Plan tells you exactly what to file, in what order, and what it costs — $2,000 fixed price.
Risk-free. If you don’t walk away with clarity, you get a full refund.
Call now: (202) 335-1999 · Email: help@trademarklawusa.com
Three Signs You’re Ready for the Assessment.
You’re approaching a launch or rebrand.
The cost of a clearance failure after launch is 50× to 100× the cost of doing it right beforehand. If you’re within six months of going to market with a new name, this is the call to take.
Your portfolio has gaps you can’t see.
Most growing businesses have unregistered marks, common-law-only protection, or filings that haven’t been maintained. The Assessment surfaces what’s exposed and what to do about it — in priority order.
You need defensible nationwide protection.
Federal registration gives you the ® symbol, the legal presumption of validity, the right to sue in federal court, and U.S. Customs recordation. We map you to the right path — classes, geography, foreign filings, and timing.
- Approaching a funding round and IP will come up in due diligence
- Preparing for an acquisition or strategic exit
- Launching a new product line, vertical, or geography
- Operating in 2+ states with no federal trademark filed
- Sitting on a brand that customers know but the USPTO doesn’t
- Tired of getting “it depends” answers from generalist counsel
The IP Assessment & Action Plan is designed for business owners, CEOs, and VPs of Operations at SaaS, manufacturing, engineering, defense, or B2B services companies generating between $50K and $15M in monthly revenue. People who run their company on data, not vibes — and want to know what they own, what’s exposed, and what to do about it before a competitor, an investor, or a court forces the question.
Know Where You Stand. Know What to Do. Know What It Costs.
The IP Assessment & Action Plan is a three-part written deliverable — not a sales call.
What You’ll Know
A comprehensive audit of your current trademark position: what you own, what’s registered, what’s exposed, and where conflicts exist.
What You’ll Have
A prioritized action plan: what to file, in what order, with what urgency. Built around your business goals, not a generic checklist.
What It’ll Cost
A detailed budget for the recommended work. You’ll know the cost of every step that follows before you commit to anything.
$2,000. Fixed price. No surprises. You’ll know exactly where you stand and exactly what to do about it.
Start Your Assessment: $2,000 →What Happens After You Book
No mystery. Three steps from booking to a written plan you can act on.
You complete a short intake covering your business, products, geographies, and any existing filings. We pull your USPTO record, prior search history, and a snapshot of your competitive landscape.
We evaluate what you own, what’s registrable, what’s exposed, and where the conflicts are. We build a prioritized filing plan tied to your business goals, not a generic checklist.
You receive a written Assessment & Action Plan with prioritized recommendations and a line-itemed budget. We walk you through it on a call and answer every question. No engagement pressure.
The Math Is Simple.
The businesses that protect their brands early spend a fraction of what the businesses that wait end up paying.
Risk-free. If you don’t walk away with clarity, you get a full refund.
The Businesses That Wait Usually Wish They Hadn’t.
The E5 Trademark System.
Most trademark firms react. We built a system.
The E5 Trademark System is the proprietary methodology behind every matter at Trademark Law USA. It’s a structured, five-phase framework for evaluating, establishing, enforcing, expanding, and exiting trademark positions.
It’s the same system used to protect brands across all 50 states and dozens of industries, from SaaS companies to defense contractors. And it’s the engine behind the IP Assessment & Action Plan.
The methodology behind the E5 System is documented in Trademarks Made Simple, authored by Steven Thrasher — the field guide for business executives who want to understand trademark strategy without having to translate legalese.
Get the Free Book →Your Attorney Handles Your Contracts. We Handle Your Trademarks.
Your business lawyer is great for what they do: formations, contracts, general counsel work. Trademark law is a specialty that requires attorneys who specialize in trademark law. Prosecution, opposition, enforcement, portfolio management. These are disciplines, not line items.
Most of those we serve keep their existing counsel for everything else and bring us in for trademarks specifically. Just like you’d see a cardiologist instead of asking your family doctor to read an EKG.
EXPERIENCE
REGISTERED
SERVED
FROM FAILED FILINGS
Trusted by Owners Building Real Businesses.
“The best money I’ve ever invested!”
Jim BengeDallas Angel Investor & “Proud Shark”
“A troll tried to hold my now Wall Street Journal best-seller hostage. Steve handled it.”
Mike KimWSJ Best-Selling Author
“When I met Steve, I didn’t even know where to begin. Steve makes impossibly complex business issues understandable.”
Logan Smith RiiseOperator
You’re Probably Wondering...
“My regular lawyer can handle this.”
Most can’t, and most know they can’t. Trademark prosecution is a specialty — federal applications, USPTO office actions, oppositions, infringement defense. Your business lawyer handles formations and contracts; trademark law is a different discipline with its own deadlines, evidentiary requirements, and procedural traps. Most of those we serve keep their existing counsel for everything else and bring us in for trademarks specifically — like seeing a cardiologist instead of asking your family doctor to read an EKG.
“We’ll do it next quarter.”
We hear this often — and we see what it costs when “next quarter” turns into next year. The most expensive trademark mistakes happen in the gap between “we should do this” and “we did it.” A competitor files first. A name turns out to be in use. A specimen window closes. The IP Assessment is $2,000 and locks in your priority date and your plan. Waiting doesn’t make the problem cheaper.
“Why pay for an Assessment when other firms offer free consultations?”
Free consultations are sales calls — they exist to close you on retainer. The IP Assessment & Action Plan is a real deliverable: an evaluation of what you own, what’s exposed, what to file, in what order, and what each piece will cost. You leave with a written plan, whether or not you ever hire us for the next steps. That’s why it’s $2,000 — and why most of those we serve tell us it’s the highest-ROI legal work they’ve done.
“Is this really different from filing it ourselves online?”
Yes. Filing on your own through TEAS is technically possible — but the application is the easy part. The hard part is what the application contains: the right basis (use vs. intent-to-use), the right specimen, the right identification of goods, the right classes, the right priority strategy. Get any of these wrong and you either fail at examination or get a registration that doesn’t protect what you actually need. We see DIY filings every week that need to be unwound — usually for more money than getting it right the first time would have cost.
“I need to check with my partner/board.”
We expect that, especially at companies with multiple owners or a formal governance process. The Assessment is structured to be the artifact you can take into that conversation — a clear written plan with prioritized actions and line-itemed costs. Most partners and boards approve the Assessment specifically because it gives them a deliverable to evaluate.
Know What to File. Know What It Costs.
The IP Assessment & Action Plan tells you exactly where your trademarks stand, what to file, in what order, and what it will cost. $2,000. Fixed price. No surprises.
Risk-free. If you don’t walk away with clarity, you get a full refund.
Or call (202) 335-1999 · Email help@trademarklawusa.com
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Trademark Strategy for the Planner.
What sophisticated owners and managers ask before they file. Each answer is short by design — the IP Assessment & Action Plan covers your specific situation in depth.
What can actually be trademarked, beyond just brand names?
Almost any distinctive identifier of commercial source can be trademarked: brand names, logos, slogans, product packaging (trade dress), colors used non-functionally, sounds, certain scents, motion marks, and combinations. Three things tend to surprise founders: (1) trade dress — the look and feel of packaging or product configuration — can be protected; (2) a single color can be registered when it has acquired distinctiveness in the market; (3) sounds (jingles, startup chimes) and even scents are registrable when they uniquely identify a source.
What is the difference between filing as “in use” versus “intent to use”?
A use-based application (Section 1(a)) requires that the applicant is already using the mark in interstate commerce on all identified goods and services at the time of filing. An intent-to-use application (Section 1(b)) reserves a filing date now while the applicant prepares to launch. Intent-to-use is the right path for any pre-launch product or service. Filing as “in use” before you actually have a qualifying specimen creates a fraud-on-the-USPTO risk that can void the registration years later.
How long does federal registration take from filing to certificate?
Typical timeline today: 8 to 14 months from filing to registration certificate, assuming a clean prosecution. The path: (1) initial USPTO examination, ~7–10 months from filing; (2) Office Action response if needed, adds 3–6 months; (3) publication in the Official Gazette for 30-day opposition period; (4) registration if no opposition is filed. Intent-to-use applications add another 6–12 months because the applicant must file a Statement of Use before registration can issue.
What is a specimen and why does the USPTO reject so many of them?
A specimen is a real-world example showing the mark in actual commercial use. For goods, it must show the mark on the goods themselves, their packaging, tags, or labels. For services, it must show the mark in advertising or rendering of the services. The USPTO rejects roughly 30–40% of specimens because applicants submit decorative uses, website screenshots without point-of-sale functionality, or mockups that don’t show actual use.
What happens after the USPTO examiner approves our application?
The mark is published in the USPTO’s Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition period. During those 30 days, any party who believes they would be damaged by registration may file a Notice of Opposition with the TTAB. If no opposition is filed, the mark proceeds to registration. Most applications survive publication unopposed; the rate of opposition is around 3–5% across all classes.
What is the Nice Classification system, and why does class selection matter?
The International (Nice) Classification divides all goods and services into 45 classes. The USPTO charges filing fees per class and your registration only protects you in the classes you’ve claimed. Class selection matters because you pay separate fees per class, the broader the description the more likely a 2(d) refusal, and class boundaries don’t always match commercial reality — software (Class 9) and software services (Class 42) often need parallel filings for the same product.
How do we expand trademark protection internationally (Madrid Protocol)?
The Madrid Protocol lets a U.S. applicant file one international application with WIPO designating multiple member countries — currently over 130 — based on a U.S. application or registration. Advantages: single filing process, single fee schedule, simplified renewals. Disadvantage: the international registration is dependent on the U.S. base for five years (the “central attack” problem). For markets outside Madrid, direct national filings remain necessary.
Can we sell or transfer our trademarks separately from the business?
Generally no. A trademark can only be validly assigned together with the goodwill of the business in connection with which the mark is used. A transfer without the associated goodwill — an assignment “in gross” — is invalid under U.S. law. For M&A transactions, the trademark assignment must accompany either the entire business or a discrete product/service line with its associated customer relationships, branding, and quality standards.
Your situation is specific. The IP Assessment & Action Plan answers these questions for your portfolio, your industry, and your stage.
Book an Assessment — $2,000 →Read the Book First.
Trademarks Made Simple — what trademark law actually does for a growing business. Written for business owners, CEOs, and operators — not for other lawyers.
Get the Book →