State registration or federal? Here is the honest difference, in plain English, so you file the one that actually protects your brand.
Run a free trademark searchMaryland businesses tend to live in a crowded corner of the map. Baltimore, the D.C. suburbs, the biotech and defense corridors: customers cross into Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the District without thinking twice. A Maryland state trademark protects your name in Maryland only, which is worth knowing before you decide anything. The word "Maryland trademark" covers two separate registrations, and the fastest way to choose is to answer three questions.
All inside Maryland, or spread across the D.C. metro and neighboring states? If they cross the line, a state only registration leaves most of them uncovered.
If yes, your brand travels far past Maryland, and a Maryland registration does not follow it.
Those come only with a federal registration. A state filing gives you neither.
If the honest answers point outward, federal is the registration that matches your reality. If your business truly stays inside Maryland, the state filing is a reasonable, low cost step.
General information to help you decide, not legal advice. Trademark rights can depend on how and where a mark is used, the goods or services involved, prior users, and other facts.
Maryland trademarks are handled by the Secretary of State through its Trademark Division. The fee is $50 per class, a separate application is filed for each class, and the registration lasts ten years and is renewable. It is a genuine state record. What it does not do: reach other states, grant the (R) symbol, or put you in the federal database that examiners and competitors search.
Source: Maryland Secretary of State, Trademarks. This filing is done directly with the state; Secure Mark USA does not file Maryland state applications.
A federal registration through the USPTO Trademark Center (which replaced the older TEAS platform) protects the registered mark across all fifty states, grants the (R) symbol, and creates a public federal record. The fee is $350 per class. On current USPTO data, expect roughly 4.5 months to a first action and about 10 months to registration for a clean application, longer if there is a refusal, an Office Action, a suspension, or an opposition. Secure Mark USA prepares and files it for you from $99 plus the USPTO fee. Start with a free trademark search or read the complete U.S. registration guide.
Source: USPTO Trademarks Dashboard; USPTO, How much does it cost.
Run a free search. If the name is clear, we file your federal application from $99 plus USPTO fees.
Start my free searchFederal. A Maryland only registration would not reach Virginia, the District, or the other places your clients are.
$50 per class, valid ten years, renewable. Federal is $350 per class, ten years, and nationwide.
No. Entity formation is separate from trademark rights and will not stop a competitor from using your brand name.
No. They are separate systems with separate records.
Only after the USPTO registers your mark federally, roughly ten months for a straightforward application, sometimes longer.
USPTO: Trademark Basics, How much does it cost, Trademarks Dashboard.
Maryland: Secretary of State, Trademarks.
Secure Mark USA: Free trademark search, Complete U.S. registration guide.