USPTO.report Resources

When a submitted TEAS application reaches our server, we assign it a filing date and time using Eastern Time. The filing date is important because it generally gives your application priority in examination over applications with a later filing date. So, if an application filed after yours has a trademark that is likely to cause confusion with your trademark, that application will be put “on hold,” which we call “suspended,” and prevented from moving forward until yours either registers or goes abandoned.

Qualifying for a filing date for your application does not mean your trademark will be registered. You must comply with all application requirements and overcome any refusals that we issue during examination. Your application must also successfully overcome any challenges filed by third parties in any opposition proceedings.

In most situations, no. Only in very rare situations will filing by other means be permitted, such as on petition in extraordinary circumstances. To find out if you qualify for filing other than by using TEAS, see “Filing documents during an outage

TEAS Plus
This filing option has the lowest filing fee of $225 per class of goods or services, and requires more detailed information at filing. For example, you must include the following information in your application, among other things:

• Your goods and services chosen from the USPTO’s Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual)
• At least one complete filing basis
• Other mark-related information (e.g., a description of the mark and an English translation of any foreign wording in the mark).
• If your application does not meet all of the TEAS Plus filing requirements, you will be required to pay a $125 per class processing fee. From then on, your application will be handled as a TEAS Standard filing option.

TEAS Standard
This filing option has a filing fee of $275 per class of goods or services, and has fewer initial requirements than TEAS Plus. For example, you may write your own descriptions of your goods and services, instead of only using ID Manual entries.

To find out more information about TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard filing options, see Trademark Initial Application Forms

Our TEAS initial trademark application has two filing options: TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard. The fees and requirements differ depending on the filing option. You select a filing option based on which requirements you meet.

As of February 15, 2020, you must file your trademark application and all related documents online using the Trademark Electronic Appliation System (TEAS). Electronic filing using TEAS is mandatory for all filers, except in rare circumstances.

TEAS is generally available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can receive a filing date for a particular date until midnight Eastern Time on that date.

Find out the current status of TEAS online and about when planned TEAS maintenance outages will occur in the “USPTO Systems Status and Availability” page. Read about what to do if you need to file a document with us during an unplanned TEAS outage in “Filing documents during an outage

The USPTO does not:

• Decide whether you have the right to use a mark (which differs from the right to register). No law requires that you federally register your mark in order to acquire rights in the mark;
• Enforce your rights in the mark or bring legal action against a potential infringer;
• Conduct trademark searches for the public;
• Comment on the validity of registered marks;
• Assist you with policing your mark against infringers;
• Assist you with recordation of your mark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
• Answer questions prior to filing on whether a particular mark or type of mark is eligible for trademark registration; or
• Offer legal advice or opinions about common law trademark rights, state registrations, or trademark infringement claims.

The USPTO reviews trademark applications and determines whether the applied-for mark meets the requirements for federal registration. USPTO employees will answer general questions about the application process at no charge. Contact the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or 1-800-786-9199. Note: The USPTO cannot provide any sort of information in the nature of “legal advice.” For legal advice, please consider contacting an attorney who specializes in intellectual property.

Each time you use your mark, it is best to use a designation with it. If registered, use an ® after the mark. If not yet registered, use TM for goods or SM for services, to indicate that you have adopted this as a trademark or service mark, respectively, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. You may only use the registration symbol with the mark on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the federal trademark registration. However, no specific requirements exist as to the precise use of the “®” symbol as to placement, e.g., whether used in a subscript or superscript manner. Note: Several foreign countries use “®” to indicate that a mark is registered in that country. Use of the symbol by the holder of a foreign registration may be proper.

No. In the United States, parties are not required to register their marks to obtain protectable rights. You can establish “common law” rights in a mark based solely on use of the mark in commerce, without a registration. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides a number of significant advantages over common law rights alone, including:

• A legal presumption of your ownership of the mark and your exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration (whereas a state registration only provides rights within the borders of that one state, and common law rights exist only for the specific area where the mark is used);
• Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark;
• Listing in the USPTO’s online databases;
• The ability to record the U.S. registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods;
• The right to use the federal registration symbol “®”;
• The ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court; and
• The use of the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries.

The USPTO’s Law School Clinic Certification Program allows law students enrolled in a clinic program to practice intellectual property law before the USPTO under the strict guidance of a law school faculty clinic supervisor.

The American Bar Association posts a list of Pro Bono IPL Resources in the United States.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) has also established the INTA trademark pro bono clearinghouse pilot program.