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Should you file your trademark yourself to save money on attorney fees?

Senior Trademark Attorney

Filing independently is possible in most jurisdictions for local applicants and does reduce upfront costs. However, the savings need to be weighed against the risk of avoidable errors.

The most common problems with self-filed applications are an incorrectly drafted goods and services list, failure to identify conflicting marks before filing, and inadequate responses to office actions. Any of these can result in refusal, additional fees, or a registration that does not adequately protect the business. The cost of fixing a problem after filing often exceeds the representation fee that would have prevented it.

In some jurisdictions, self-filing is not permitted regardless of whether you want to save money: non-US citizens filing in the US must use a licensed US attorney, and non-EU/EEA applicants filing with the EUIPO must appoint a representative.

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