Straight answers before you call.

Everything it takes to get from a name to a registered mark: a comprehensive clearance search, a USPTO application prepared and filed by an attorney, and every office action response along the way. That last part is the difference. Most firms and online filing services quote a low number to file, then bill separately — often by the hour — each time the USPTO examiner pushes back, and some form of office action is common. With Vargas IP, the price you're quoted is the price you pay for the whole process, and the attorney who searched your mark is the same one who files it and answers the examiner.

The low price of online filing services buys document preparation, not legal judgment. A filing service types what you give it into the USPTO form. It can't tell you whether the name is a good candidate for registration, which classes to file in, or how to describe your goods and services, and when an office action arrives, the response is an extra charge or your problem. With Vargas IP, a Texas-licensed attorney registered before the USPTO evaluates your mark before you spend anything, prepares the application to fit your business, reads every letter the USPTO sends, and answers the examiner as part of the flat fee. And when you call, you reach him.

If you want to avoid paying for an application that gets refused, yes. The USPTO doesn't refund fees when a mark is rejected for conflicting with an existing registration, and the more expensive problem is learning that a name can't be registered after you've printed signs, packaging, and a website. A search of federal registrations, state registrations, and common-law uses tells you where you stand while changing course is still cheap. It's included in the all-inclusive package and available on its own for $1,000, with a credit toward filing if you go forward. One distinction worth knowing: a clearance search assesses registrability and identifies potential conflicts. It is not an infringement opinion; if you need to know whether a specific use is likely to infringe, that is an infringement opinion, a separate engagement starting at $2,000.

They answer different questions. The clearance search ($1,000) asks whether a name can be registered: it looks for existing registrations and uses that an examiner would cite against the application and gives you a written assessment of registrability. An infringement opinion (from $2,000, quoted after review) asks whether using the name is likely to infringe someone else's rights. It involves a deeper search that also covers marketplace uses and unregistered marks in your industry and region, and it ends in a written opinion on your specific use, with recommendations: proceed, adjust, or rebrand. If you haven't launched and mainly want to file, start with the clearance search. If the name is already on your storefront, products, or website, or someone has questioned your right to use it, the infringement opinion is the one to ask for.

No. Government filing fees are charged by the USPTO per class of goods or services and are separate from the attorney's flat fee. You'll be told the exact government fee before anything is filed, so there are no surprises on that side either.

Months, not weeks, but faster than it used to be. The USPTO currently takes about four to five months after filing to assign an examining attorney and issue a first action, and most applications reach registration in roughly ten to eleven months from filing, longer if an office action has to be resolved or the mark is opposed. The search and filing themselves move quickly, usually within a couple of weeks of getting started.

A letter from the USPTO examining attorney raising an issue with your application: a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark, a claim that the mark is merely descriptive, a problem with the description of goods or services, or a technical requirement. It isn't a final rejection, but it has a deadline, generally three months, and it needs a written legal response. Responding to office actions is included in the all-inclusive package.

Yes. Office action responses are available on their own — you don't need to have filed through Vargas IP, and you don't need to buy the full package. Send the office action, or just your serial number, and Thomas will review it, explain in plain English what the examiner is refusing and whether it's likely fixable, and quote a flat fee for the response before any work begins. Responses to substantive refusals, such as likelihood of confusion or descriptiveness, start at $1,250; office actions vary widely in what they raise, so every response is quoted to the specific letter, and a technical requirement like a disclaimer or an amendment to the goods and services is priced lower than a full legal argument. This is the right option if you filed through an online filing service and the refusal came as a surprise. Timing matters. You generally have three months from the date the office action issued to respond, with one three-month extension available for a USPTO fee, so reach out as soon as it arrives. If you'd rather not deal with the USPTO again, Thomas can also take over the application entirely as attorney of record for the rest of the process.

Usually, yes, but they're separate marks and separate applications. The name in plain text (a "standard character" mark) gives the broadest protection and is where most businesses should start. A logo protects the specific design, and a slogan can be registered if it works as a brand identifier rather than ordinary advertising. We'll talk through which matters most for your business and sequence them so you aren't paying for more than you need.

No. Vargas IP has offices in San Antonio and Austin and serves businesses throughout South Texas. Trademark registration is a largely digital process, so clients in the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Corpus Christi, and elsewhere in the region work with Thomas by video, phone, and email, with in-person meetings by appointment. See areas served.

Call before you respond or change anything. Disputes — cease-and-desist letters in either direction, oppositions and cancellations before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and infringement litigation — are handled at an hourly rate with a retainer, since the scope depends on the other side. Thomas has litigated both trademark and patent matters, so the attorney who files your marks can also enforce them.

Registration isn't the end. You can use the ® symbol, and you'll need to file maintenance documents with the USPTO between the fifth and sixth year and renew every ten years, or the registration lapses. It's also worth watching for new applications that conflict with yours. Deadlines for marks filed through Vargas IP are calendared and flagged well in advance.