Prior to completing a Sought Carolina trademark application, an applicant must first check with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and with the State of South Carolina to ensure that the mark the applicant intends to file is not already in use in the state or the country.
Once a trademark search is completed and the name is cleared on both the state and federal level the applicant must fill out completely, sign, and notarize the application and submit it to the South Carolina Secretary of State. It is helpful to have attorney guidance when applying for registration on the State level because a small error on the application will mean your application will be returned and applicants are warned that the Secretary of State’s Office will not offer legal advice.
When submitting a South Carolina trademark application, the applicant must, among other things, submit evidence of the mark in use, identify the class(es) in which the good/service falls, submit a $15.00 fee for each class that you indicate, date of first use (a mark must be currently in use before it can be registered with the state), and indicate if you have ever submitted an application to register any portion of the trademark or service mark with the USPTO.