Thinking of Filing Your Own Trademark? 7 Costly Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

You've built something. Maybe it's a bakery, an Etsy shop, a podcast, a consulting practice, or a product line you've spent years developing. Now you want to protect the name. The trademark office's website makes filing look simple, and online filing services advertise low prices and quick turnarounds.

Filing is the easy part. The hard part is everything that comes before and after the form, and that's where most costly mistakes happen. Here are seven we see again and again, whether you're in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, or anywhere in the U.S.

1. Thinking your LLC, DBA, or domain is a trademark

Registering your business with the New Mexico Secretary of State (or any state) lets you operate under that name. Buying a domain gets you a web address. Neither one is a trademark, and neither stops someone else from using a similar name as a brand.

Copyright doesn't help either: names, titles, and short slogans aren't protected by copyright at all. A trademark protects the name, logo, or slogan customers use to recognize your business.

2. Searching only for exact matches

The legal question is not "Is anyone using this exact name?" It's whether customers are likely to assume your business is connected to someone else's. Names that sound alike, look alike, or mean the same thing can conflict even when they're spelled differently.

Two more blind spots: another company's registration may cover far more than what they actually sell today, and businesses using a name without registering it may have rights in their area. None of that shows up in a quick exact-match search.

3. Choosing a name that describes what you sell

Names that say exactly what you do ("Fresh Baked Bread," "Best Plumbing") are easy to market and hard to protect. The trademark office often refuses them, and even when they register, competitors can use similar words.

Strength runs along a scale: names that hint at what you do are better, real words used in an unexpected way are stronger, and invented words are strongest. The cheapest time to move up that scale is before you launch.

4. Naming the wrong owner

The application has to be filed in the name of whoever actually owns and uses the mark. If your LLC runs the business but you file in your own name (or the other way around), the application can be void, and in many cases that can't be fixed after the fact. You'd have to start over and lose your place in line.

5. Describing your products or services wrong

Your registration only covers the goods and services you list. Too narrow, and your protection is narrow. Too broad, and you may be listing things you can't prove you sell, which can cost you part of your registration later. You can narrow the list after filing, but you can never expand it.

6. Picking the wrong filing basis or format

Are you already selling under the name, or planning to? Should you file the words alone, the logo, or both? These choices shape how broad your protection is and whether the application survives. Filing the words by themselves usually protects the name in any font or design, while a logo filing is tied to that specific look.

7. Treating registration as the finish line

Once you're registered, there are deadlines: a declaration of continued use between years 5 and 6, and a renewal between years 9 and 10, then every 10 years after that. Miss them and the registration is cancelled. There is also an optional filing after five years of continuous use that makes your registration much harder to challenge.

Use ™ any time. Use ® only after your registration issues. And be wary of official-looking letters and emails from private companies. Genuine U.S. Patent and Trademark Office emails come from an address ending in @uspto.gov, and the office never asks for payment by wire transfer or gift card.

DIY, online service, or attorney: what are you actually buying?

Government filing fees apply no matter who files. As of 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's base fee is $350 per class of goods or services, with added surcharges if the application is incomplete or uses custom wording. (Fees change, so check the office's current fee schedule.) A New Mexico state registration is less expensive, but it only covers New Mexico.

Timing varies too. In early 2026, the trademark office reported a first review in about four and a half months, and about ten months to reach a final decision. An objection letter from the office (called an "office action") is common and doesn't mean you've been rejected, but it does come with a firm response deadline.

The bottom line

A trademark filing is a few pages long. The decisions behind it are what protect your brand. If you're naming a new business, rebranding, or wondering whether the name you've used for years is really yours, a conversation with a trademark attorney before you file costs far less than fixing a problem afterward.

Sutherland Law Firm / Dignity Elder Law helps small businesses and creatives in New Mexico and across the country choose, clear, register, and protect their names. Send us a direct message, or reach us through our contact form: https://sutherlanddignity.com/contact

This post is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every business's situation is different, so talk with a trademark attorney about yours. Legal advertisement. Miriam Sutherland, Sutherland Law Firm / Dignity Elder Law 505-594-4044 • hello@dignityelderlaw.com