TRADEMARK SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES & FOUNDERS
The name on the door deserves federal protection.
Business names
The name you operate under, federally protected.
We file for
Restaurants & hospitality
Concept names, brand extensions, locations.
Restaurants, agencies, professional practices, local services, and startups. Whether you've been operating for years or you're claiming your name before launch, federal registration is the difference between local rights and nationwide protection.
Agencies & studios
Firm names, methodology, signature offerings.
Pre-launch startups
Intent-to-use filings for new ventures.
WHAT WE FILE FOR BUSINESSES
The name that became the business.
From single-location shops to multi-state services. Here's what small-business filings most commonly look like.
Business and DBA names
The name on your sign, your invoices, and your contracts. Federal registration takes that name from local to nationwide.
Restaurant & hospitality brands
Restaurant names, concept brands, hotel and venue names. Often filed alongside signature menu items or service marks.
Agency & studio names
Creative agencies, consultancies, design studios, and professional services firms. Often paired with signature methodology names.
Pre-launch (intent-to-use) filings
If you haven't started using the name yet, an intent-to-use filing secures your priority date while you finalize launch plans.
Service marks
For service-based businesses — consulting, legal, financial, fitness, training — the federal mark that identifies the service you provide.
Logos & wordmarks
Once your federal registration issues, we provide the serial and registration numbers Amazon and other platforms ask for during verification.
Why small businesses file before they need to enforce.
Most small businesses operate for years on common-law trademark rights — the rights that come from using a name in commerce. Those rights are real and enforceable, but they're limited in geography and require proof of use to defend. Federal registration is the upgrade that extends your protection nationwide and creates a clear public record of your ownership.
The cost of not filing usually doesn't show up until someone else does — a competitor in another state who files first and gains priority, a former employee who launches a similar business, or a national brand that decides your local market is worth expanding into. Filing early is significantly less expensive than rebranding later.
Nationwide priority
Federal registration gives you priority across all 50 states from your filing date, even before you operate everywhere. Common-law rights are limited to your geographic area of use.
Legal presumption of ownership
A federal registration creates a legal presumption that you own the mark — which means in a dispute, the burden shifts to the other party to prove otherwise.
Use of the ® symbol
The ® can only be used with federally registered marks. It's a public signal that your mark is protected and a deterrent to would-be copycats.
Foundation for growth
Investors, lenders, franchisees, and acquirers all look at trademark ownership. Federal registration is a cleaner answer than a portfolio of common-law claims.
RECOMMENDED FOR BUSINESSES
Standard fits most. Essentials fits when you've done the homework.
Most small business filings benefit from the full clearance search and written opinion in Standard. If you've already researched your name carefully and want straightforward attorney-led filing, Essentials may be the right fit.
Standard
FULL CLEARANCE + WRITTEN OPINION
WHY THIS TIER FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Business names live in some of the most crowded trademark territory — restaurants, consulting firms, and local services often use similar naming conventions, and common-law users in other states can create conflicts that a knockout search won't surface. Standard's full clearance search and written opinion catch those issues before you spend filing fees on an application that won't clear.
✓ Full federal search + common-law spot-check, with written risk summary
✓ Single-class application, drafted and filed
✓ Specimen review
✓ Written registrability opinion
✓ One office action response (within scope)
★ The Markley Promise
$1,995
all-in, USPTO fee included
Confident your name is clear? Essentials ($1,495) offers attorney-led filing with a knockout search — or start your intake and we'll recommend the right tier.