You Have to.
As I've mentioned before, if you are a person or company with a foreign address, you have to have a bar-licensed, US attorney file your application and communicate with the USPTO on your behalf. Any time this applies to you, make sure you look up your attorney on their state bar website to ensure they are bar-licensed and in good standing.
You want help obtaining a US Trademark.
An attorney can help lead you through some important steps prior to filing for your trademark like a clearance search, determining your filing basis, or obtaining an appropriate specimen. I always recommend a clearance search prior to filing a trademark application. It's important to remember, if the USPTO rejects your application because that trademark is already in use, you don't get any of your money back. On the upside, if we find a conflicting mark in the search, we can get some ideas of how to pivot before sinking too much money into a brand that isn't viable.
Your filing basis can include whether or not you are already using the trademark to identify your goods or services in the US marketplace. There are also filing basis for different foreign filings. Meanwhile the specimen you choose to submit must show how your trademark is used in commerce.
So we've done your clearance search, and it's looking good. An attorney can counsel you on what classes you want to file for your trademark. The USPTO charges fees per class, so as just a tip, you more than likely don't need to file in apparel even if you are printing your cool logo on T-shirts. You only need to file in apparel if you're actually an apparel business, otherwise your logo is purely ornamental.
As your application progresses, the USPTO will probably send you an office action with possible questions or rejections. An attorney can help you respond to these requests and overcome the rejection. There are many deadlines you'll need to manage during the process. These deadlines and fees do not end after your trademark is allowed. An attorney can help stay on top of these deadlines and help you maintain your mark registration.
Above all, an attorney is here as your counsel during this registration process. We're here to help with all the little nuances of trademark registration. We're even here to help when we don't think registration will be possible for your mark. An attorney can save you money at this crucial step where an online filing service will not stop you from throwing away your money, even if a prior mark exists and is easily found in a quick TESS search.
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