The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) handles appeals involving applications to register marks, appeals from expungement or reexamination proceedings involving registrations, and trial cases of various types involving applications or registrations.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is a neutral body that functions like a court for trademark matters at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Board's administrative trademark judges are authorized to determine a party's right to register a trademark with the federal government.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is an administrative tribunal within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
When can I expect a final decision on my appeal? Presently, the TTAB is rendering decisions in ex-parte appeals approximately 10 weeks after all briefs have been submitted or after a hearing date.
Instead, an opposition trial is conducted through “testimony periods” as follows: (1) the Opposer has a 30- day testimony period in which to submit its trial evidence; (2) the Applicant then has a 30-day testimony period to submit its evidence; and (3) the Opposer has a 15-day testimony period to submit rebuttal ...
Use the Reading Room to search TTAB final decisions and precedential orders. You can search cases by date, issue, and other criteria. You can also search by language within the decision. Please send comments, questions, and suggestions to [email protected] .
You may challenge an application for trademark registration at the USPTO by filing an opposition with the TTAB within 30 days after it is published in the Official Gazette.
Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set period of time. Trademarks will persist so long as the owner continues to use the trademark. Once the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), grants a registered trademark, the owner must continue to use the trademark in ordinary commerce.
ten yearsIn the United States, a federal trademark can potentially last forever, but it has to be renewed every ten years. If the mark is still being used between the 5th and the 6th year after it was registered, then the registration can be renewed.
A notice of reliance is essentially a cover sheet for the materials sought to be introduced. As the title suggests, the notice of reliance serves to notify opposing parties that the offering party intends to rely on the materials submitted thereunder in support of its case.
To submit a Trademark Opposition Form, the process is: Anyone who opposes the trademark files a "Notice of Opposition," with the court. This complaint explains the reasons why the trademark is being opposed. The Trademark Trial Appeal Board (TTAB) will issue an order for both parties to review the claim.
A 'Trademark opposition' means an objection filed by third parties, against registration of a trademark within 4 months of the advertisement of the trademark to be opposed. Any person, natural or legal, may file an opposition with the Registry.
A 'Trademark opposition' means an objection filed by third parties, against registration of a trademark within 4 months of the advertisement of the trademark to be opposed. Any person, natural or legal, may file an opposition with the Registry.
ten yearsIn the United States, a federal trademark can potentially last forever, but it has to be renewed every ten years. If the mark is still being used between the 5th and the 6th year after it was registered, then the registration can be renewed.
TTAB proceedings are governed by the Lanham Trademark Act of 1946, as amended, (Trademark Act), 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.; the rules of practice in trademark cases (commonly known as the Trademark Rules of Practice) found in Parts 2 and 7 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.); the rules relating to the conduct of practitioners and the representation of others before the USPTO found in Part 11 of 37 C.F.R.; and guidance provided in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP).
Each year, TTAB panels decide hundreds of appeals from refusals to register trademarks because they are descriptive, generic, confusingly similar to existing marks, or otherwise ineligible under the Trademark Act. Such refusals to register are initially issued by trademark examining attorneys, whose decisions may be appealed to the TTAB. New ex parte cancellation proceedings are being implemented and appeals of final decisions in those proceedings will also be decided by the TTAB. Decisions of the TTAB may, in turn, be appealed, in some cases, to a United States district court, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Although ESTTA allows online filing 24 hours a day, TTAB representatives are only available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET to assist with resolving ESTTA technical issues. Visit the USPTO Systems Status and Availability webpage to check system status and planned outages. If ESTTA is not available on a weekend, holiday, or after the normal course or closure of business hours, visit the Filing TTAB Documents during an outage webpage for filing assistance.
The Electronic System for Trademark Trial and Appeals (ESTTA) allows users to file new and subsequent requests for extensions of time to oppose, commence new proceedings, file responses to motions or orders in an existing ex parte or inter partes proceeding, and submit such items as evidence in trial cases and legal briefs in all types of cases. Parties commencing or involved in TTAB proceedings are required to use this electronic filing process.
The TTAB Reading Room allows users to search for final decisions and precedential orders.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is a neutral body that functions like a court for trademark matters at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Board's administrative trademark judges are authorized to determine a party's right to register a trademark with the federal government. The Board is not authorized to determine whether you have the right to use a trademark, and does not issue injunctions halting use. The Board only determines whether an applicant or registrant has the right to register a mark or to retain a registration under challenge. Additionally, the Board is not authorized to determine questions of trademark infringement or unfair competition or to award money damages or attorney's fees. For anything other than determining the right of federal registration, you must file a case in federal or state court.
The TTAB usually conducts oral hearings Tuesdays through Thursdays either virtually or in one of the shared hearing rooms on the Alexandria campus. Oral hearings are usually open to the public. Visit the hearings webpage to view more information about TTAB hearings such as schedules, protocols, and Alexandria campus visiting information.
(link sends email) or phone at 571-272-8500, Mon-Fri between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET for assistance.
TTAB offers relief for applications related to COVID-19: TTAB is providing relief for applications that were examined under the COVID-19 Prioritized Trademark Examination Program and are now on appeal or in an opposition. For appeals, TTAB will expedite the review of, and the issuance of ex parte appeal decisions under certain circumstances. For oppositions, a TTAB attorney or judge may participate in the parties' mandatory settlement and discovery planning conference. The applications are monitored once they are at TTAB and there are no requirements for applicants to meet to be involved in the relief offered. For additional information, see the USPTO notice of the relief offered.
About the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The TTAB is an administrative board that hears and decides adversary proceedings between two parties, namely , oppositions (party opposes a mark after publication in the Official Gazette ) and cancellations (party seeks to cancel an existing registration). The TTAB also handles interference ...
The TBMP provides practitioners with basic information generally useful for litigating cases before the TTAB. The manual does not modify, amend, or serve as a substitute for any existing statutes, rules, or decisional law and is not binding upon the TTAB, its reviewing courts, the Director of the USPTO, or any part of the USPTO. Rather, the TBMP merely describes current practice and procedure under the applicable authority, as of the manual's issue date.