a potential infringer. Filing an application for federal registration of a trademark typically costs approximately $500 - $1,000 if the services of an attorney are used. An individual may apply for federal trademark registration directly to the United States Patent and Trademark Office without using an attorney. The government fee for filing a trademark application ranges from $275 - $375 per class of goods and services. In order to obtain federal registration of a trademark, the mark must first be used in commerce. Use of the mark must be substantially continuous if rights in the mark are to be preserved, even after registration is obtained. Federal registration cannot be obtained until the trademark has actually been used on the goods and services in interstate commerce. Proper trademark use requires that the mark be placed on the goods directly, or their containers, or displays associated with the goods, or tags or labels that are affixed to the goods. If the mark is used in association with services, the mark must be used or displayed in association with the sale or advertising of the service. As long as a trademark is being used properly, the trademark rights will last indefinitely, and any federal registration of the trademark may be renewed indefinitely. Proper use of a trademark requires that it always be used as an adjective, and never as a noun. For example, the word “zipper” was once a registered trademark and denoted a particular type of fastener. Proper use of that trademark would have been to always refer to the fastener as the “zipper fastener” and never simply as a “zipper.” Since this trademark was used improperly as a noun referring to the fastener itself, the word “zipper” lost its trademark status and simply became the “generic” word identifying a product, thereby giving anyone the right to use the word “zipper.”
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