Anyone ever register a Trademark (a name or design)?

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Has anyone here ever formally registered a trademark (a name or design or logo) for business use? I'm in the US, so this would be with the USPTO. I know it's possible to do it yourself for a (substantial) fee, but it's also often done with a lawyer (for much more of course).

Just interested to hear of personal experiences, if any.

Twice.

The only difference between a registered trademark ( ® ) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registere ... ark_symbol ) and a claimed trademark ( ™ ) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_symbol ) is that a registered trademark gives the mark's owner some legal "oomph" to protecting the mark from potential misuse. As far as most nonlawyers are concerned, either mark warns against misuse, and the ability to pursue a claim of misuse is about the same experience regardless of the symbol chosen; a legal warning is a legal warning. But, a registered trademark costs much more to accomplish than a claimed trademark which, in most cases is free-of-charge to use (absent any claims by owners of similar works). Fees range from $225 to $400 per class ( https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-applic ... -structure ). The registered trademark must also be renewed every 10 years or so.

As a designer and writer many years ago, I have always used a claimed trademark symbol and never used a registered trademark symbol unless my employer(s) chose to pay for them. I have never needed to pursue a claim. This proves that the effect of a legal warning within the symbol itself works well. But, if the work(s) you plan to trademark enjoys potential to earn you or others some significant income, it might be worth hiring a lawyers to register them.

Well, I filed my trademark application. A bit complex, but not too difficult -- sort of like filing a long tax form. I hope I got it right, since they don't give refunds if the application fails.