Federal Trademark Registration - $594 + $275 USPTO Filing Fee = $869. Trademark Registration typically takes between 6 months and 1 year to complete. Upon successful registration, the applicant is entitled to use the ® symbol after their text or logo. The "Registered" symbol is a public acknowledgement that the text or logo preceding the symbol is granted national use of the term in a particular category.
A registered trademark is afforded the right to pursue legal action for trademark infringement in any area of the country, while non-registered trademarks (denoted with the use of the ™ symbol after the text or logo) can only pursue legal proceedings in a specific and localized geographic region.
Registered trademarks are required to be maintained every five years. Every ten years, the applicant is required to submit maintenance filings as well as renewal filings.
While the term "trademark" is very frequently used, the term "servicemark" also carries meaning with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A servicemark is essentially a trademark covering a particular service rather than a product. A servicemark is afforded the same legal rights as a trademark, and when not registered, is denoted with an "SM" after the specified term. When a servicemark is registered, it is noted with the ®, just like a trademark.