Federal trademark services for every stage of your brand
Search, filing, monitoring, renewal, and enforcement, led directly by a former USPTO Trademark Examining Attorney, with flat fees quoted in writing before any work begins.
A federal trademark is not a single transaction, it is a series of decisions that begin before you file and continue for as long as you use the mark. The Branding Iron is built around that full lifecycle. Whether you have not yet chosen a name, already received a USPTO refusal, or are managing a growing portfolio of registrations, John E. Dugger works directly with you at each stage, drawing on his prior experience as a USPTO Trademark Examining Attorney to identify issues examining attorneys commonly raise and address them before filing when possible.
Every engagement is scoped and quoted as a flat fee, in writing, before work begins. There is no multi-attorney team and no handoff to a document-preparation service, you work with John from the first call through the stage described in your engagement agreement.
Seven services, one point of attorney contact.
Trademark Registration
Search, strategy, and federal filing prepared and reviewed by a former USPTO examiner.
Learn moreTrademark Search & Clearance
Find out whether a name carries meaningful conflict risk before you invest in it.
Learn moreOffice Action Response
Understand a USPTO refusal and respond before the deadline, even if John did not file the original application.
Learn moreTrademark Monitoring
Attorney-reviewed alerts for new applications and marketplace uses that may conflict with your mark.
Learn moreRenewals & Maintenance
Track post-registration deadlines and prepare the filings that keep a registration alive.
Learn moreEnforcement & Disputes
Evaluate potential infringement, demand letters, coexistence questions, and TTAB matters.
Learn moreCounsel for Foreign Applicants
U.S.-licensed representation for applicants, registrants, and foreign counsel who need a domiciled attorney before the USPTO.
Learn moreNot sure where to start?
Choose the statement that best describes where you are today.
Why work with a former USPTO examiner.
Before founding The Branding Iron, John served as a Trademark Examining Attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, reviewing applications from the government’s side of the desk. That vantage point shapes how he evaluates a proposed mark today: he looks for the same likelihood-of-confusion, descriptiveness, specimen, and identification issues an examiner is trained to flag, and he tries to address them before an application is filed rather than after a refusal arrives.
This experience informs judgment and strategy. It does not, and cannot, guarantee that any application will be approved. Every application is reviewed independently by a USPTO examining attorney, and results cannot be guaranteed.
Flat fees, quoted in writing.
The Branding Iron does not bill by the hour for the services described on this site. Instead, John quotes a flat attorney fee for the defined scope of work, separate from any USPTO government filing fee, before he begins. That scope, what is included and what is not, is set out in a written engagement agreement, so you know the cost before you commit to it.
Work that falls outside the agreed scope, such as an additional class, a separate mark, a substantive dispute, or an appeal, is quoted separately once it is understood. See the firm’s current flat-fee pricing for representative figures across services.
Questions about how the firm works.
Do I need to know which service I need before I book a call?
Can one engagement cover more than one service?
Does the firm handle matters outside trademarks, such as patents or copyrights?
Do you work with clients outside Tennessee?
Wherever you are in the process, start with a conversation.
Tell John what you are building and what stage you are at. You will leave the call with a clear description of the recommended next step and a written flat-fee scope before any work begins.