{"question": "best trademark registration services for startups", "category": "trademark-registration-services", "category_name": "trademark registration services", "audience": "startups", "audience_name": "startups", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-21T23:00:50Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/trademark-registration-services-startups-2026-10-21", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/trademark-registration-services/startups", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "ID Manual", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "flat-fee", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Gerben IP", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Cognition IP", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "LegalZoom", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "Trademark Engine", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "Engine", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "Trademarkia", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "Bizee", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 10, "brand": "Rocket Lawyer", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 11, "brand": "Y Combinator", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/best-trademark-services", "domain": "startupsavant.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/legalzoom-vs-trademark-attorneys", "domain": "legalzoom.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademark-services/trademark-search-and-registration/", "domain": "gerbenlaw.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://ycombinator.com/companies/cognition-ip", "domain": "ycombinator.com", "source_type": "community"}, {"url": "https://www.trademarkengine.com/blog/trademark-engine-vs-legalzoom/", "domain": "trademarkengine.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://beancount.io/blog/2026/09/27/how-much-does-trademark-cost-2026-uspto-fees-guide", "domain": "beancount.io", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.haynesboone.com/news/alerts/us-trademark-fees-going-up.pdf", "domain": "haynesboone.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://llcbuddy.com/best-trademark-registration-services/", "domain": "llcbuddy.com", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "# Trademark registration for startups - who I'd actually use\n\nFirst, the number that matters: the USPTO itself charges **$350 per class**, and since Jan 2025 there's one base fee plus surcharges (+$200 if you write a custom goods/services description instead of picking from the ID Manual, +$100 for incomplete info). Every service below is a fee *on top* of that. Writing your description straight from the ID Manual is the single easiest way to save $200/class, and it's the thing cheap filing services most often get wrong.\n\n**1. A flat-fee trademark attorney - Gerben IP or Cognition IP.** This is my real recommendation for a startup that intends to raise money or has a name it's attached to. Gerben IP charges a flat $3,000 + $350/class and does a comprehensive federal, state, *and* common-law search before filing. Cognition IP (YC-backed, flat-fee, doesn't bill for emails) is the better fit if you also want patents and ongoing IP counsel from the same firm. Expensive next to LegalZoom, but the search is the product - knocking out a doomed name before you've printed anything is worth more than the filing itself.\n\n**2. LegalZoom - $899 + USPTO fees.** The sane default if $3,000 isn't h", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}