How to Trademark a Character: Filing, Fees, and Renewal

To trademark a character, you file an electronic application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering the character’s name, image, or both, tied to specific goods or services you sell or plan to sell. The base fee is $350 per class of goods or services, and the average application takes about 12 months from filing to registration.¹ A trademark is not the same as a copyright. Copyright covers the character’s creative expression inside a story; a trademark protects the character’s name or image when it identifies the source of commercial products or services.

Does Your Character Qualify

Two things have to be true before a character name or image can be registered. First, it must be distinctive enough that consumers link it to your brand rather than to a general category of product. A generic knight or a standard cartoon animal probably will not qualify. A character with a specific name, a distinctive look, and public recognition can. If shoppers see the image and think “that’s from Company X,” you are in trademark territory. If they just think “cute picture,” you are not there yet.

Second, the name or image must be used in commerce, or you must have a genuine intent to use it commercially soon. Writing a character into a novel or featuring one in a film does not, by itself, create trademark rights. The character needs to appear on product packaging, merchandise tags, advertising, or as a company logo. Federal law allows registration based on either current use or intent to use.²

Where the Character Falls on the Distinctiveness Spectrum

The USPTO evaluates marks on a distinctiveness scale that decides whether they land on the Principal Register with full protection, the Supplemental Register with limited protection, or get rejected. Fanciful marks are invented words with no existing meaning, like a made-up name such as “Zorblax.” Arbitrary marks use real words in unrelated contexts, like naming a robot “Marigold.” Suggestive marks hint at a quality without describing it directly, like a fast character called “Dashfoot.” Descriptive marks flatly describe the goods or the character, like a muscular hero called “Strong Man”; they can only reach the Principal Register after you prove the public associates the name with your brand, which typically takes five years of exclusive, continuous commercial use.³ Generic terms cannot be trademarked at all; you cannot register “Robot” for a robot character.

Most original character names with distinctive designs fall into the fanciful or arbitrary categories, which makes them strong candidates. A descriptive character name that has not yet built recognition can still be filed on the Supplemental Register, which lets you use ® and sue in federal court but does not carry the presumption of validity or nationwide exclusive rights that Principal Register marks enjoy.

Search for Conflicts Before You File

Before spending money, search the USPTO database for marks that could conflict with yours. A conflict does not require an identical match. The USPTO refuses registration whenever a proposed mark is likely to cause confusion with an existing one based on similarities in sound, appearance, meaning, or the relatedness of the goods and services involved.³

The USPTO retired the old TESS system in late 2023 and replaced it with a free cloud-based tool at tmsearch.uspto.gov.⁴ Do not limit your search to the exact character name. Search phonetic equivalents, alternate spellings, and visually similar designs across related classes. If your character is “Starlight,” also search “Starlite” and “Star Lite.” You can filter by goods and services, design codes, registration status, and owner name.

What the Application Needs

A trademark application requires several pieces of information assembled before you start the form.

Applicant Information

You need the full legal name and address of the trademark owner, whether that is an individual, LLC, corporation, or other entity. That person or entity becomes the registered owner. If you live or are headquartered outside the United States, a U.S.-licensed attorney must represent you for all filings, from the initial application through maintenance and any disputes.

Drawing of the Mark

Every application must include a “drawing” of the mark. There are two options, and you pick one per application.⁵ A standard character drawing protects the character’s name in plain text, without any particular font, size, or color. A special form drawing protects a specific visual design, logo, or stylized version, including particular colors; this is the option for registering a character’s image. Many character owners file two separate applications, one for the name and one for the image, and pay the fee for each.

Specimen Showing Use

If you file based on current use, you must submit a specimen showing the name or image being used to sell goods or promote services in the real world. For products, that could be a photo of the character on packaging, a hang tag, or a screenshot of an online store listing. For services, acceptable specimens include advertisements, brochures, or business signage. The specimen must show the mark as consumers actually encounter it, not a mock-up.

Goods and Services

Your application must describe the specific goods or services the character is associated with. “Merchandise” is too vague. You need precise entries like “t-shirts,” “plush toys,” or “entertainment services in the nature of animated television programs.” The USPTO’s Trademark ID Manual lists thousands of pre-approved descriptions, and picking from that list avoids a $200-per-class surcharge that applies to custom descriptions.⁶ The list you include defines the boundaries of your trademark rights, so it is worth the time.

Filing Before the Character Is on the Market

You don’t have to wait until the character is on store shelves. If you have a genuine plan to use it commercially, you can file an intent-to-use application under Section 1(b) of the Lanham Act.² The examination and publication process is the same. After the opposition period clears, you receive a Notice of Allowance instead of a registration certificate.⁷ From that date, you have six months to begin using the character in commerce and file a Statement of Use, which costs $150 per class.⁸ You can request extensions in six-month increments, up to 36 months total from the Notice of Allowance. Missing the Statement of Use or a timely extension abandons the application.⁹

Fees and How to File

All applications must be filed electronically through the USPTO’s Trademark Center portal.¹⁰ As of January 2025, the USPTO uses a single application type with a base fee of $350 per class. The previous TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard tiers were eliminated.⁸

Costs add up quickly for character trademarks. Registering a character name for t-shirts (Class 25), toys (Class 28), and entertainment services (Class 41) is three classes at $350, or $1,050 in base filing fees. A custom goods or services description adds $200 per class, with another $200 for every 1,000 characters of description text beyond the first 1,000.⁶ Filing separate applications for the name and the image doubles the numbers. All fees are non-refundable, even if the application is ultimately refused.

What Happens After You File

Once you file and receive a serial number, the application enters a queue for review by a USPTO examining attorney. As of early 2026, the average wait for a first action is about 4.5 months.¹

The examiner checks whether the mark meets legal requirements and searches for conflicts. If problems come up, you receive an office action explaining the issues. You have three months from the issue date to respond, with an option to request a three-month extension for a fee.¹¹ Miss both deadlines and the application is abandoned. This is where applications most often die, so treat office actions with urgency. Common refusals for character marks include likelihood of confusion with an existing registration and failure to function as a source identifier, meaning the examiner concludes the character is merely decorative.

If the examiner approves the application, it publishes in the USPTO’s Official Gazette. Publication opens a 30-day window for anyone who believes the registration would harm them to file a formal opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.¹² Oppositions are uncommon but do happen in crowded entertainment spaces. If no one opposes, or an opposition is resolved in your favor, the USPTO issues a registration certificate. For use-based applications, registration typically follows publication by about two months.⁹

Using TM and R Symbols

You can use ™ next to the character’s name, or ℠ for services, as soon as you claim trademark rights, even before you file. These symbols carry no legal prerequisites. The ® symbol can only be used after the USPTO actually issues your federal registration. Using ® prematurely is a violation of federal law and can be grounds for the USPTO to refuse the application. A foreign registration does not authorize ® in the United States.

Keeping the Registration Alive

A registration does not last forever on autopilot. Two maintenance filings keep it in force, and the USPTO does not send reminders.

Between years 5 and 6 after registration, file a Declaration of Use under Section 8 with a current specimen proving the character is still being used in commerce. A six-month grace period follows the sixth anniversary with an extra fee per class.¹³⁶¹⁴

Both filings require a verified statement of continued use and a current specimen. If you have paused use for reasons beyond your control, you can file a Declaration of Excusable Nonuse. If the mark has genuinely been abandoned, the registration will be canceled.

After five consecutive years of use following registration, you can also file a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability. This optional filing narrows the grounds on which a competitor can challenge the mark, essentially to claims that it has become generic, was obtained fraudulently, or has been abandoned.¹⁵ The mark must be on the Principal Register to qualify.

Enforcing the Trademark

Registration gives you the legal tools to stop others from using the character in ways that confuse consumers. Federal trademark law provides several categories of relief. A court can issue an injunction ordering the infringer to stop. You can recover the infringer’s profits, your own actual damages, and litigation costs, and courts can increase the damages award up to three times the actual amount in appropriate cases. Attorney fees are available in exceptional cases, generally those involving willful infringement. If someone uses a counterfeit version of your character mark, you can elect statutory damages between $1,000 and $200,000 per counterfeit mark per type of good sold, or up to $2,000,000 per mark if the counterfeiting was willful.¹⁶

Enforcement is your responsibility. The USPTO registers marks but does not police the marketplace. Most enforcement starts with a cease-and-desist letter, which resolves many disputes without litigation. If you discover infringement and do nothing, you risk weakening your rights over time; courts have found that owners who tolerate widespread unauthorized use can lose the ability to enforce their mark later.

A Note on International Protection

A U.S. trademark registration only protects the character inside the United States. If you plan to sell merchandise or license the character abroad, you need protection in each country where you do business. The Madrid Protocol lets you file a single international application through the USPTO, designating the countries where you want coverage, instead of filing separately in each one.¹⁷ It covers more than 120 countries and regional offices, and requires either a pending U.S. application or an existing U.S. registration as your home base. You can also file directly in individual countries without using Madrid, which may make sense if you only need one or two markets.

1
United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks Dashboard
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1051 – Registration of Mark
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1052 – Trademarks Registrable on Principal Register
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retiring TESS: What to Know About the New Trademark Search System
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Drawing of Your Trademark
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Section 1(b) Timeline – Application Based on Intent to Use
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Summary of 2025 Trademark Fee Changes
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Process
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Rule Makes Electronic Filing Mandatory for Trademark Submissions
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Response Time Period
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Approval for Publication
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Registration Maintenance/Renewal/Correction Forms
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Post-Registration Timeline
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Declaration of Incontestability of a Mark Under Section 15
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1117 – Recovery for Violation of Rights
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Madrid Protocol for International Trademark Registration