Protect the name customers look for every Saturday.
You have spent time building trust at the booth, on the label, and online. Federal trademark protection can help secure the name as the business grows into e-commerce, wholesale, retail stores, additional markets, or new product lines.
Former USPTO Trademark Examining Attorney · Based in Franklin, Tennessee · Direct attorney access · Federal trademark practice nationwide
Regular attorney fee: $695 per mark, per class
Applicable USPTO fees are separate and generally start at $350 per class.
Eligibility, conflicts check, and written engagement required. Each separate mark and class carries separate fees. USPTO fees are generally nonrefundable and may include additional surcharges.
Built for the businesses that make local markets worth showing up for.
I live in Franklin and spend many Saturday mornings at the Franklin Farmers Market. I see how much work vendors put into building names that customers remember, recommend, and look for each week.
Many of those businesses grow well beyond the booth. They begin shipping products, selling wholesale, entering stores, opening online shops, or launching signature product lines. That is often when a brand that once felt local starts carrying much more value and much more risk.
I created this discounted rate to make attorney-led trademark clearance and filing more accessible to farmers market vendors as their businesses grow.
Independent program
This program is independently offered by The Branding Iron. It is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Franklin Farmers Market or any other farmers market unless expressly stated otherwise.A local following can become a valuable brand.
Using a name can create trademark rights, but local use alone may leave important questions unanswered. A federal registration can strengthen the public record of ownership and expand the tools available to protect the brand, subject to any earlier rights held by others.
The name on the tent
A farm or business name may become the name customers use to find you at several markets, online, and in stores. The name should be evaluated before broader expansion makes a change more expensive.
The name on the package
A signature food, beverage, soap, candle, artwork, or other product may develop its own identity apart from the business name. That product name may deserve separate protection.
The logo customers recognize
A word-mark registration does not automatically register every logo, label, or design. A distinctive design may be an additional asset worth considering.
The next place you sell
Wholesale, e-commerce, retail placement, and additional markets can bring the brand into contact with businesses and customers far beyond the original local footprint.
What can a farmers market business protect?
The right filing strategy depends on what customers recognize as the source of the goods or services. Common candidates include:
Commonly protectable at a market business
- The farm, company, studio, or maker name.
- A signature packaged-food or beverage brand.
- A recurring product-line name.
- A distinctive logo, label design, or combined word-and-design mark.
- A brand used for an online store or wholesale line.
- A tagline that actually identifies the source, rather than functioning only as advertising copy.
Not every name or logo needs a separate application. The goal is to identify the marks that matter most to the business, evaluate the risk, and prioritize the protection that is likely to deliver the most value.
A lower filing rate for eligible farmers market vendors.
The Branding Iron’s normal Full Filing attorney fee starts at $695 per mark, per class. Eligible farmers market vendors receive a reduced attorney fee of $495 per mark, per class. USPTO government fees are separate.
Standard Full Filing
The firm’s published rate for any client, in any industry.
Attorney fee per mark, per class
- Applicable USPTO fee from $350 per class, paid separately
Farmers Market Vendor Rate
The same Full Filing scope at a reduced attorney fee.
Attorney fee per mark, per class
- Applicable USPTO fee from $350 per class, paid separately
- $200 below the standard attorney fee per mark, per class
- Subject to eligibility, conflicts check, and a written engagement
A word mark and a logo are two separate marks and generally require two applications. One mark covering two classes carries two class fees. The exact scope and total cost are confirmed in writing before work begins.
Start with a $295 Trademark Clearance Assessment.
For one mark in one class, the assessment includes an attorney-directed federal and marketplace search, a written risk assessment, and a strategy review. If filing is recommended and you retain the firm to file that same mark and class within 30 days after the assessment is delivered, the full $295 is credited toward the $495 vendor filing attorney fee.
- $295 clearance assessment
- $200 remaining attorney fee at filing
- $495 total attorney fee for the same mark and class
- applicable USPTO fees
The assessment fee covers the completed assessment even if filing is not recommended or you decide not to proceed. Bundle pricing and credit rules for multiple marks or classes are confirmed separately and follow the firm’s current written pricing policy. Read more about the Trademark Clearance Assessment.
What the Full Filing package includes.
Included in the Full Filing attorney fee
- Intake and filing-strategy review.
- Attorney-directed federal-register and relevant marketplace searching.
- Written risk assessment.
- Ownership and filing-basis review.
- Trademark-class and goods-or-services drafting.
- Specimen review for a use-based application.
- Application preparation and filing.
- Routine USPTO status monitoring and reporting.
- One response to the first non-final USPTO Office Action, whether the issues are procedural or substantive.
- Ordinary intent-to-use attorney work for the originally engaged mark and classes through registration, including an appropriate Amendment to Allege Use or Statement of Use and up to five permitted extension requests. Applicable USPTO fees remain additional.
Later or final Office Actions, appeals, consent or coexistence agreements, contested proceedings, unusual corrective work, enforcement matters, and services outside the written engagement are quoted separately before that work begins.
See the full registration scope or compare standard pricing and USPTO costs.
A practical path from market booth to federal filing.
Tell John about the brand.
Share the business name, what you sell, where you sell, and which name, logo, or product brand matters most. There is no charge to submit the short inquiry on this page.
Clear the mark before filing.
John reviews federal records and relevant marketplace use, evaluates the legal risk, and delivers a written recommendation. A database search alone is not a clearance opinion.
Approve the filing strategy.
If filing makes sense, John confirms the owner, filing basis, classes, goods or services, specimen strategy, attorney fee, and USPTO fees before the application is submitted.
File and monitor the application.
John prepares the application, files it after client approval, monitors the USPTO record, and handles the included prosecution work within the written scope.
Your current registration may not cover the whole brand.
A registration covers a particular mark, owner, and set of goods or services. As a business grows, the most valuable branding may change. A review may identify an opportunity to protect:
Gaps a review often finds
- A logo when the existing registration covers only the wording.
- A signature product name that is different from the farm or company name.
- New goods or services outside the current registration.
- Updated branding that materially differs from the registered design.
- A retail, wholesale, or online brand that developed after the original filing.
- Ownership or maintenance issues that should be addressed before the next deadline.
A new application is not always necessary. The first step is to compare the registration with how the business actually uses the brand today.
Work directly with a former USPTO Trademark Examining Attorney.
John E. Dugger prepares and files each matter through The Branding Iron. Before founding the firm, he served as a Trademark Examining Attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the federal agency that examines trademark applications.
Clients work directly with John on the search, risk assessment, filing strategy, application, and prosecution. The firm is based in Franklin, Tennessee, represents clients nationwide in federal trademark matters before the USPTO, and clearly separates attorney fees from government fees.
Questions farmers market vendors often ask.
Is registering an LLC, assumed name, or domain name the same as registering a trademark?
I have used my business name for years. Why would I need a search now?
Should I register the business name or the logo first?
How much does the vendor filing package cost?
What is a trademark class?
Can I file before the product launches?
What if I already own a federal registration?
Who qualifies for the farmers market vendor rate?
Is this program affiliated with Franklin Farmers Market?
Does submitting the form make The Branding Iron my lawyer?
Tell John what you sell and what you want to protect.
Share enough information for John to identify the likely next step. Do not include confidential or highly sensitive information. Submission does not create an attorney-client relationship or extend any deadline.
Protect the brand before the next stage of growth.
Whether the next step is another market, an online store, a wholesale account, a new product line, or simply stronger protection for a name customers already know, the right place to begin is with a careful search and a filing plan built around how the business actually operates.
Book a Complimentary 15-Minute Fit Call. No charge when attended as scheduled. A payment method is required to reserve a time. A $50 fee applies to cancellations or rescheduling with less than 24 hours' notice and missed appointments. Review the consultation policy.
The farmers market vendor rate is independently offered by The Branding Iron for qualifying new matters. Eligibility, conflicts review, written acceptance, and an engagement agreement are required. Attorney fees and USPTO fees are separate. USPTO fees are generally nonrefundable. No outcome is guaranteed. Contacting the firm or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. This program is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Franklin Farmers Market or any other farmers market unless expressly stated otherwise. Attorney advertising.