SILC (Sivochek IP Law Center) – Limited Scope Trademark Legal Services Agreement

1. Parties and Effective Date
This Agreement is between Sivochek IP Law Center (“Attorney”) and you (“Client”). It becomes effective on the date you sign it.

2. What We’ll Do for You (Scope of Services)
Our work together is focused on helping you file your U.S. trademark application. Here’s what’s included:
• Obtain or prepare a U.S. trademark search report.
• Send you a written opinion about your trademark’s availability for use and registration based on the search results.
• Provide consultations (up to 30 minutes each) about your trademark, the search results, and your application. The number of consultations depends on the plan you choose.
• Prepare and file your trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).
• Serve as your official attorney of record for the application until it registers (unless we mutually agree to end our work together or certain professional rules require us to withdraw).
• Monitor your application and keep you updated.
• Receive all communications from the USPTO and forward them to you.
• Respond to simple, non-substantive USPTO requests that take less than 30 minutes to handle (like small wording changes or disclaimer requests).
• When your trademark registers, review the registration certificate, send it to you, and explain your renewal and maintenance requirements.

3. What’s Not Included
Our work under this Agreement only covers the items in Section 2. It does not include:
• Responding to substantive refusals from the USPTO (e.g., descriptiveness or likelihood-of-confusion refusals) that take 30 minutes or more to prepare.
• Statements of Use or Extensions of Time to File Statements of Use.
• Petitions, oppositions, cancellations, or other Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) matters.
• Lawsuits, cease-and-desist letters, or other disputes.
• Any legal work not specifically listed in Section 2.
If you need help with any of these items, we’ll provide a separate quote.

4. Your Responsibilities
To help us do our job effectively, you agree to:
• Respond promptly to our emails and questions.
• Provide accurate and truthful information.
• Receive all communications by email (we don’t send paper mail) and check your email regularly.
• Make sure our emails aren’t blocked by spam filters or other email problems.
• Let us know right away if your contact information changes.
• Pay legal fees and costs promptly.

5. Legal Fees
You agree to pay the flat fee shown on our payment page. This fee is a true retainer — it reserves our availability to work with you during the trademark process and is considered earned once paid.
• If you decide to end this Agreement before we file your application, we may refund part of your fee depending on how much work we’ve done and any costs we’ve paid.
• Once your application is filed with the USPTO, the fee is non-refundable.

6. USPTO Fees and Other Costs
• USPTO fees are in addition to our legal fees. Currently, the USPTO charges at least $350 per class of goods or services.
• If your trademark isn’t in use at the time of filing, additional government fees will apply later.
• You agree to pay these fees and any other costs we’ve discussed and you’ve approved in advance.

7. Ending Our Work Together
• Automatic End: Our work ends automatically when your trademark registers.
• If You End It: You can end this Agreement anytime in writing. If we need USPTO permission to withdraw, we’ll request it promptly, and you’ll hire a new attorney.
• If We End It: We can end our work if you don’t follow this Agreement, if we have major disagreements about strategy, or if something prevents us from representing you effectively. If we withdraw, we’ll take reasonable steps to protect your interests and, if you ask, suggest other lawyers.
• If, after reviewing your initial request, we find we can’t represent you due to a conflict or other reason, we’ll let you know right away and refund your payment.

8. No Guarantees
We can’t promise or guarantee any specific outcome for your trademark. Any opinions we share are just our professional judgment, not guarantees.

9. Disputes, Arbitration, and Governing Law
• We aim to resolve any concerns through open, respectful conversation. If that doesn’t work, we both agree to try mediation before taking any further steps.
• If mediation does not resolve the matter, both Client and Attorney agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules.
• The arbitration shall take place in Los Angeles, California, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
• This Agreement is governed by California law, and both parties consent to jurisdiction in California courts for any permitted court proceedings related to the arbitration.

10. Entire Agreement
This document is the complete Agreement between you and us. If a court or arbitrator finds any part of it invalid, the rest will still apply. By submitting your trademark request form, you agree to all the terms above.

11. Attorney’s Operating Account
According to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, advances for fees, costs, and expenses should normally be deposited into a separate “Trust Account” until earned. This requirement exists to safeguard unearned funds. You acknowledge and agree to waive this requirement and authorize Attorney to deposit all payments directly into Attorney’s operating account in order to avoid the added costs and administrative burdens of managing separate accounts.

12. California Rule of Professional Conduct 3-410
Pursuant to California Rule of Professional Conduct 3-410, we are informing you in writing that Attorney does not maintain professional liability insurance.