Building a cosmetics company is about more than creating great products—it’s about building a brand that stands out in a crowded, trend-driven industry. And if you’re serious about your beauty brand, trademark protection isn’t optional. It’s essential.

At Cohn Legal, we work with founders and brand owners every day who are launching skincare lines, clean beauty startups, and indie cosmetics companies. One of the biggest mistakes we see? Waiting too long to protect your name. Here’s what you need to know to trademark your cosmetics brand correctly—and what’s changed since the original advice you may have read years ago.

Why Trademarks Matter in the Beauty Industry

In a world flooded with copycat products and knockoff packaging, your trademark is your best line of defense. It’s what lets customers identify your products and associate them with quality, consistency, and trust. A registered trademark gives you the exclusive right to use your brand name (and potentially your logo or tagline) in connection with your products—and it gives you the legal power to stop others from using something confusingly similar.

Especially in the cosmetics industry, where visual branding and packaging are everything, a registered mark isn’t just a legal tool. It’s an asset. If you ever plan to sell your business, license your products, or scale internationally, your trademark becomes a crucial piece of your brand’s value.

Start with a Trademark Search—Don’t Skip This

The very first step in the trademark process is making sure your brand name is actually available. That means running a comprehensive clearance search to identify any existing marks that might be too similar. It’s not enough to do a quick Google or search the USPTO database by name—you need to look at variations in spelling, phonetics, and overall commercial impression.

This step is absolutely critical. If you skip it, you could spend months (and thousands of dollars) building a brand that someone else already owns the rights to. Worse, you could receive a cease-and-desist letter or get hit with a lawsuit. We see this happen far too often, and it’s almost always avoidable with the right upfront search.

Filing Your Trademark Application with the USPTO

Once we’ve confirmed your name is available, the next step is preparing your application. For cosmetics, your trademark will typically fall under Class 3, which includes beauty products, makeup, lotions, perfumes, and similar goods.

The USPTO currently offers two filing options:

  • TEAS Plus, which has a lower fee ($250 per class) but requires stricter formatting and pre-approved language.

  • TEAS Standard, which costs more ($350 per class) but gives us more flexibility in describing your products.

Whichever option we choose, it’s important to describe your goods accurately and use the right class codes. If your business expands into different product categories (like supplements or candles), we may need to file in multiple classes.

What Counts as a Proper Specimen for Cosmetics?

If you’re already selling your products, you’ll need to submit a specimen showing how the trademark is being used in commerce. For cosmetics, a good specimen might be:

  • A photo of your product with the label showing the brand name

  • A screenshot of your e-commerce site, with the trademark clearly displayed next to the product

  • A product tag or box featuring the brand name and a clear reference to the goods

The key is that the specimen must link the mark to the product. Marketing materials, social media posts, and standalone logos usually won’t cut it.

What Happens After Filing?

Once your application is submitted, it goes to a USPTO examining attorney. If everything checks out, your mark will be published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition period. That gives others the chance to object if they believe your trademark would damage their rights.

If no one opposes—or if an opposition is resolved in your favor—your mark will proceed to registration. For applications based on actual use, that means you’ll receive your registration certificate. If you filed based on intent to use, you’ll need to file a Statement of Use first.

If the examining attorney finds any issues with your application (like similarity to an existing mark or problems with the specimen), they’ll issue an Office Action. You typically have three months to respond, with an optional three-month extension if needed.

Staying Protected: Maintenance and Renewal

Trademark rights don’t last forever unless you take steps to keep them active. Between the 5th and 6th year after registration, you’ll need to file a Declaration of Use showing that the mark is still in use in commerce. Every ten years, you’ll also need to renew the registration.

Miss these deadlines, and the USPTO can cancel your trademark. It’s important to keep track—or better yet, let your attorney handle the reminders.

Thinking International? Plan Ahead

Many cosmetics companies plan to expand internationally through licensing or global e-commerce. If that’s on your radar, you’ll want to consider international protection under the Madrid Protocol. This allows you to file a single application that can extend to multiple countries, but each country still has its own rules and approval process.

Pro tip: Some countries are “first to file” systems, meaning whoever registers first gets the rights, even if you used the name first in another country. So if your brand has global potential, don’t wait to file abroad.

A Few Common Pitfalls

If you’re building a cosmetics brand, avoid these all-too-common trademark mistakes:

  • Choosing a name that’s too generic or descriptive. “Smooth Skin Cream” might describe your product, but it won’t qualify for strong trademark protection.

  • Assuming your LLC or domain name protects you. It doesn’t. Only a trademark registration can stop others from using your name in a confusingly similar way.

  • Using your mark inconsistently. Switching fonts, spellings, or logos too often can weaken your legal rights.

  • Missing deadlines. Trademark rights come with maintenance requirements. If you forget to file, you could lose your protection.

 

Final Thoughts: Don’t DIY Your Trademark

Filing a trademark application for your cosmetics brand might seem straightforward, but the process is deceptively complex. One small mistake—like choosing the wrong class, submitting an invalid specimen, or missing an Office Action deadline—can delay or destroy your application.

That’s why we strongly recommend working with a trademark attorney from the start. At Cohn Legal, we help entrepreneurs, indie brands, and startup founders build strong legal foundations for their businesses—so you can focus on growing your brand, not fighting off imitators.

Ready to trademark your cosmetics brand? Reach out and let’s talk.