Important Information Regarding Your Online Filing
EXISTING MARKS:
- RENEWALS: If you have a currently registered mark or trademark and would like to renew your registration by filing online, please set up your profile as prompted in the online filing system and then email our trademarks staff at trademarks@sos.sc.gov with your profile email address, the owner of the mark, and a brief description of the mark. Our staff will pair your profile with the currently registered mark for you to continue the renewal filing process.
- ASSIGNMENTS: If you need to transfer the ownership of a registered trademark or service mark, please set up your profile as prompted in the online filing system and then email our trademarks staff at trademarks@sos.sc.gov with your profile email address, the current owner of the mark, and a brief description of the mark. Our staff will pair your profile with the currently registered mark for you to submit an assignment for the mark. Please be prepared to upload a copy of the assignment instrument which authorizes or provides for the assignment of this trademark or service mark from the original Applicant to the new Applicant. If the assignment is due to an entity name change, please upload appropriate corporate filing(s) which document the change.
PAYMENT: Payment may be made using credit/debit cards bearing the Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express logos. The fee to register a trademark or service mark is $15.00 for each class selected. You will have an opportunity to review the list of available classes when prompted to select a class. A small processing fee will be included when filing online and will appear for review before submitting the application. Application fees submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office with a trademark or service mark application are not refundable, as provided under S.C. Code §39-15-1185.
SPECIMENS: When filing an application for registration of a trademark or service mark, you will be required to submit three (3) specimens to file to register a trademark or service mark. Please have files ready to upload. The file types allowed for specimens are PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, TXT, BMP, JPG, JPEG, RTF, and PNG. The maximum allowed file size is 4 MB. The specimens can all be submitted in one file or in separate files. Computer generated images and printer’s proofs are not acceptable specimens for either trademarks or service marks.
Examples of specimens acceptable for a trademark:
■ Photos of the goods that show use of the mark on the goods;
■ Photos of tags or labels for the goods;
■ Photos of containers for the goods;
■ Photos of a display associated with the goods.
*Please note that letterhead, business cards, or invoices are not acceptable examples for a trademark.
Examples of specimens acceptable for a service mark:
■ Scanned business cards showing the mark in connection with the service;
■ Photos of a sign;
■ Brochures about the service (including menus);
■ Advertisements for the service (including billboards and advertisements from newspapers or magazines);
■ Screenshots of the mark used on the applicant’s Website that include the URL.
You will also be prompted to upload a logo of the mark. This logo should be a clear image of the mark for use on the registration certificate. Please have a logo file ready to upload. The file types allowed for a logo are BMP, JPG, JPEG, and PNG. The maximum allowed file size is 4 MB.
REVIEW: All filings are submitted into a queue for review. If the Trademarks Division rejects an application, you will be notified of the reason(s) for the rejection and may amend and resubmit the application within a specified time frame. When a trademark or service mark is registered, a registration certificate will be sent electronically to the email address provided by the applicant. In addition, the filer of a registered mark can access the registration certificate on the online profile at any time.