What is Maintenance Fee for Trademark Registration? Advantages of installment payment also explained

Which is better, 10 years or 5 years?

When a trademark application is registered, registration fee can be paid in a lump sum for 10 years or in installments for 5 years (payment in installments). What are the advantages of paying in installments?

Installments for five years would be more expensive in respec to the cost for each year. However, I recommend you consider the importance of the subject trademark, the life cycle of target products/services and possible term of use of the trademark.

This article provides an overview of the factors to consider in determining payment for duration of trademark registration.

Cost for trademark registration and trademark renewal

After receiving notice of allowance of a trademark application, the application will be registered by paying registration fee. The registration and renewal fees necessary for registration of trademark rights (official fee:patent stamp) are shown below. The official fees vary depending on the number of classes. For example, the registration fee for two classes (for five years) is: 2Classes×17,200yen＝34,400yen

Note that if you ask a patnet attorney or patent firm for the payment procedures of registration and renewal, the accompanying attorney’s fees as well as official fees will be required.
Generally, attorney’s fees will be several tens of thousands yen for one payment procedure, which vary by each patent firm. Our attorney’s fee for payment through Amazing DX is 15,000yen (consumption tax inclusive) for one class.

Please refer to the article below for details on maintenance fee of trademark registration.

Please refer to the article below for details on costs necessary for filing trademark application and aquireing trademark rights.

10 years? or 5 years?

Considering the annualized cost, it is more economical to pay in a lump sum for 10 years than to pay in installments for 5 years, as shown below.

Example: Registration fee through Amazing DX (1 class)

※Official fees are based on the JPO fees revised on April 1, 2022.

In some cases, it may be more appropriate to choose a 5-year installment rather than a 10-year lump sum, when considering not only the cost but also the following decision factors.

Term of use of trademark

If the term of use of the trademark has been determined in advance, the number of years of registration can be calculated based on the term of use. For example, a mark or catchphrase related to an anniversary event may be the case. In such a case, if the period of use is 5 years or less, the total cost can be reduced by paying for 5 years.

Life cycle of goods and services

For some goods and services, there is an option to choose 5-year installments if the field of the goods/services has a short lifecycle. For example, food and beverage products, restaurants, etc. are largely influenced on the world’s trends, and so a five-year payment may be used to see how things go.

Importance of Trademarks

If the trademark is a company name, there will be no frequent changes, so a 10-year lump sum would be the best choice. If the trademark is related to a new business, it may be better to pay in 5-year installments, taking into consideration the size of the business and the time it will take to get off the ground.

Others

If you want to keep the cost of a single procedure as low as possible, we recommend that you pay in 5-year installments.

If the registration fee for the remaining 5 years is paid before the expiration of 5 years from registration or renewal, the right can be continued for 10 years from registration. The remaining five years can be paid at any time before the expiration of five years from registration.

So there are cases where it’s better to choose the 5-year install payments, depending on if the trademark will be used for a limited time, the life cycle of the product, and the importance of the trademark.

Summary

Amazing DX® offers you the ensured professional services from a leading patent firm while minimizing the cost of managing your trademark. Please feel free to start with a quote. Contact us REQUEST FORM.