What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for trademark registration services (startups) on 2026-09-23

Claude (Anthropic) with web search claude-opus-5 asked 2026-09-23

Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

The question asked, verbatim: best trademark registration services for startups

Brands named, in the order the engine gave

1. Gerben IP mentioned
   Gerben IP - ~$2,000 flat + $350/class.
2. Cognition IP mentioned
   Cognition IP - flat-fee, startup-native.
3. Trademarkia mentioned
   Trademarkia - for the free search, regardless of who you hire.
4. Trademark Engine mentioned
   Trademark Engine - $49 basic / $149 standard / $199 deluxe / $539 attorney-led.
5. Engine mentioned
   Trademark Engine - $49 basic / $149 standard / $199 deluxe / $539 attorney-led.
6. LegalZoom mentioned
   LegalZoom - $649 standard, $899 attorney-led (flat fee, up to two searches).
7. Figma mentioned
   Legitimate if your mark is distinctive and coined (think "Figma," not "DesignTool").
8. ID Manual mentioned
   Two traps as of the January 2025 fee restructure: TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard are gone, merged into one $350/class base fee, and that base rate only holds if you pick your goods/services straight from the USPTO ID Manual.
9. Y Combinator mentioned
   - Cognition IP (Y Combinator) (https://ycombinator.com/companies/cognition-ip)

Sources the engine cited

The answer, as recorded

Searched. Here's what I'd actually recommend, in order. **The thing that determines your outcome is clearance, not filing.** Filing is a form. The money question is whether your name is registrable at all - most startup rejections are for likelihood of confusion with an existing mark, or for being merely descriptive ("CloudInvoice" for invoicing software). A $49 service will happily file a doomed application and keep your money. So the tiers below are really "how much lawyer do you want on the search." **1. Gerben IP - ~$2,000 flat + $350/class.** My default pick if this is your actual company name, the one going on the Series A deck. Flat fee, real attorneys, 10,000+ registrations, and their clearance is the substantive part - two search tools plus paralegal and attorney review rather than a knockout search. If they tell you your name is a problem, you've saved far more than the fee by hearing it before you print business cards. ([gerbenlaw.com](https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademark-services/trademark-search-and-registration/)) **2. Cognition IP - flat-fee, startup-native.** YC company, SF-based, does patents and trademarks on flat fees for early-stage through enterprise. Worth it over Gerben specifically if you also have patent work coming, since one firm holding the whole IP picture is genuinely more useful than two vendors. ([ycombinator.com/companies/cognition-ip](https://ycombinator.com/companies/cognition-ip)) **3. Trademarkia - for the free search, regardless of who you hire.** 12M+ mark database, free to search, attorney review included on their paid tiers. Even if you file elsewhere, run your candidate names through it before you get attached to one. ([startupsavant.com](https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/best-trademark-services)) **4. Trademark Engine - $49 basic / $149 standard / $199 deluxe / $539 attorney-led.** The sane budget option, and if you use it, use the $539 attorney-led tier. The cheap tiers are form-fillers: not a law firm, no legal analysis, no responsibility if the application is refused. Fine for a secondary product name or a defensive filing where you already know the mark is clean. ([trademarkengine.com](https://www.trademarkengine.com/blog/trademark-engine-vs-legalzoom/), [indielaw.com](https://www.indielaw.com/blog/legalzoom-vs-trademarkia-vs-trademark-engine-are-budget-trademark-services-worth-it/)) **5. LegalZoom - $649 standard, $899 attorney-led** (flat fee, up to two searches). I'd only pick this if you're already using LegalZoom for formation and registered agent and want one vendor. On price-per-unit-of-lawyer it's worse than Gerben - you're paying near-attorney rates for a platform. Notable detail: LegalZoom hires an outside law firm to file LegalZoom's own trademarks. ([legalzoom.com](https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/legalzoom-vs-trademark-attorneys), [gerbenlaw.com](https://www.gerbenlaw.com/blog/legalzoom-boasts-250000-trademark-filings-but-hires-a-prestigious-law-firm-to-file-its-trademarks/)) **6. DIY via USPTO Trademark Center - $350/class.** Legitimate if your mark is distinctive and coined (think "Figma," not "DesignTool"). Two traps as of the January 2025 fee restructure: TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard are gone, merged into one $350/class base fee, and that base rate only holds if you pick your goods/services straight from the USPTO ID Manual. Write your own description and it's +$200 per class, +$200 per extra 1,000 characters, +$100 for incomplete info. Use the ID Manual language verbatim. ([uspto.gov fee schedule](https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule), [tmarkmetric.com](https://tmarkmetric.com/insights/uspto-trademark-fees-2026)) Two things that override all of the above: - **If your company is foreign-domiciled, the DIY and non-attorney options aren't available to you** - the USPTO requires a US-licensed attorney. Go to #1 or #2. - **File intent-to-use early if you haven't launched.** It reserves your priority date from the filing date, which matters more than which vendor you picked. Sources: - [Gerben IP - flat fee trademark registration](https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademark-services/trademark-search-and-registration/) - [Gerben IP - on LegalZoom's own filings](https://www.gerbenlaw.com/blog/legalzoom-boasts-250000-trademark-filings-but-hires-a-prestigious-law-firm-to-file-its-trademarks/) - [Cognition IP (Y Combinator)](https://ycombinator.com/companies/cognition-ip) - [StartupSavant - best trademark services](https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/best-trademark-services) - [Trademark Engine vs LegalZoom](https://www.trademarkengine.com/blog/trademark-engine-vs-legalzoom/) - [Indie Law - are budget trademark services worth it](https://www.indielaw.com/blog/legalzoom-vs-trademarkia-vs-trademark-engine-are-budget-trademark-services-worth-it/) - [LegalZoom vs traditional trademark attorneys](https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/legalzoom-vs-trademark-attorneys) - [USPTO fee schedule](https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule) - [tmarkmetric - USPTO trademark fees 2026](https://tmarkmetric.com/insights/uspto-trademark-fees-2026) - [Startup Legal Guru - flat-fee trademark lawyers](https://startuplegalguru.com/best-for/best-flat-fee-trademark-lawyers-for-startups)

Markdown edition · the question page, with every recording · Answer Watch · AEO Watch

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.