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What is the Difference? TEAS Plus vs TEAS Standard TEAS is the Trademark Electronic Application System used by the USPTO. TEAS PLUS is designed to be easier for both the applicant and comes with a reduced fee. In TEAS Plus the applicant can only choose goods and services identifications that are already approved descriptions in the goods and services ID manual. The rate of refusals for TEAS plus is lower than that of TEAS Standard (new name for TEAS RF). About 32% of TEAS PLUS applications publish for opposition without a refusal (68% are refused). This is twice the rate over TEAS Standard with which only about 14% are approved and published for opposition without a refusal. TEAS Standard applicants do not need to select an identification of goods and/or services from the Trademark ID Manual or satisfy the other TEAS Plus requirements at the time of filing. BUT you may have to supply the ID in response to a refusal (which may be more expensive if responses are an extra billed by the attorney responding). TEAS Plus is a way to decrease the risk of refusal if an existing goods/service category is strategically good for your business. BBEWARE OF LOSS OF TEAS PLUS STATUS! At the end of a TEAS PLUS application is a checkbox where the applicant is reminded and warned: “REMINDER: Because you are filing under TEAS Plus, please be sure you have entered the following, if applicable within the facts of your application: (1) claim of prior registration(s); (2) translation; (3) transliteration; (4) consent of individual identified in mark; and (5) concurrent use claim. Otherwise, you will lose TEAS Plus status and be required to pay an additional $100 fee.” (Emphasis added) When to use TEAS Standard? For a unique or custom description If you need a custom goods/services category, (regular) TEAS Standard may be the best way to go. Choosing a goods/service identification and category strategically can be a way to avoid refusal and opposition, because being too broad may open you up to more likelihood of confusion refusals. At the same time, being too narrow can be limiting and a narrow ID classification may become obsolete in a short time. TEAS Standard can be a benefit over TEAS Plus if the user can craft a goods/services identification that makes it clear that there is no conflict between the new application being filed and an existing prior pending application or registration that is ‘confusingly similar’. (Section 2(d) Likelihood of confusion refusals are the most common refusal.) Let’s say that a search of TESS showed that someone already has registered a ‘similar’ trademark for a product that could be described the same way as yours but was not really a related product. Applying for a new mark using TEAS Plus because it is cheaper but using the same description as the similar mark could cause a refusal or opposition. But, if your product can be accurately described using a TEAS Standard category (or possibly a TEAS Plus) using a better description that makes it clear that the products really aren’t ‘related’, a refusal or opposition can potentially be avoided. Benefit of Using TEAS Plus: Preparation Pays Off in Time & Money & Less Refusals IF You fill out the application correctly TEAS Plus applications issue faster because the goods and services categories will not be refused for indefiniteness or other reasons. (ID refusals are very common.) TEAS Plus applications also issue faster because all of the necessary information has to be prepared before filing and inputted at the time of the application in order to file the application. A TEAS Standard applicant will still have to supply almost all of the same information but they will have to do it in a Response to Office Action when the application is refused for not having all the proper information. Using up a nonfinal response (you usually only get one) to provide basic information may be costly in money and in time. Responses to Office Actions take time and can involve attorneys fee. If you are applying for a design mark that is difficult to describe, TEAS Standard may be better than TEAS Plus because the USPTO examiner will write the description for you. If you fail to describe a difficult design mark well enough on TEAS Plus, the examiner or their paralegal may write it for you and charge the $100 fee to convert to TEAS Standard. Trademark Terminology Learning what ‘terms of art’ in trademark law mean like ‘confusingly similar,’ ‘similar’ and ‘related’ to avoid refusals and oppositions requires advanced skills in trademark law. Case law, which is constantly changing, may support that the goods or services are or are not related. A Not Just Patents® trademark search and application preparation can help avoid refusals and oppositions. Strategies that produce strong trademarks at the end of the day may be better than saving some money at the beginning. The cost of starting over with a new trademark can be devastating to a business; the cost of a delay in a product introduction can stifle growth and seller and consumer confidence.
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See Why Not Just Patents? if you have already applied and been refused. See also Why Hire A Private Trademark Attorney? Don’t assume that protecting your reputation and legal rights is too expensive, abandoning your trademark registration because of problems from office actions and refusals may result in a larger losses- |
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Comparison Chart TEAS Plus vs TEAS Standard* extracted from https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks- TEAS Standard replaced TEAS RF on February 15, 2020. Both TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard are now on the same form. |
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Questions |
TEAS Plus |
TEAS Standard |
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What is the filing fee per class of goods/services? |
$250 |
$350 |
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Must the application include an e- |
Yes |
Yes |
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Must certain subsequent application- |
Yes |
Yes |
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Must the identification of goods/services be selected from the USPTO Trademark ID Manual? |
Yes |
No |
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Must the filing fee per class for all classes listed in the application be paid upfront? |
Yes |
No |
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Must certain statements regarding the mark be provided in the application as filed, if applicable (e.g., translation statement, claim of ownership, color claim and description, if applicable)? |
Yes - |
No |
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TMk Email W@TMK.law best or call 1- For more information from Not Just Patents, see some of our other mobile- |
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What evidence is discoverable in a TTAB proceeding (opposition or cancellation)? |
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