Trademark Filings in November 2025: Volume Dips Seasonally but AI and Hardware Brands Signal Robust Demand

Monthly Trademark Filing Report | USPTO Data Through November 30, 2025

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Executive Summary

The USPTO received 48,521 trademark applications in November 2025 — a meaningful month-over-month decline from October's 52,736 filings, but a 1.5% year-over-year increase compared to November 2024's 47,783 applications. The pullback from October is consistent with typical late-autumn seasonality and does not appear to reflect any structural cooling in brand activity. Technology and entertainment classes continued to dominate the docket, and a striking cluster of AI-branded filings from Amazon, Google, Apple, and Samsung suggests that the race to lock down intellectual property in the artificial intelligence space is intensifying rather than abating. Meanwhile, registration-rate data from 2024 cohorts reveals a prosecution pipeline that is still working through pandemic-era backlogs, with rates now converging toward historical norms in the low-to-mid 40s.

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1. Overall Filing Volume: A Seasonal Dip, Not a Structural Decline

November 2025 produced 48,521 total applications — down 8.0% from October 2025 (52,736) and representing the lowest single-month total since February 2025 (38,331). On its face, a drop of more than 4,200 filings might seem alarming. Context, however, counsels calm.

First, the year-over-year comparison is reassuring. November 2024 recorded 47,783 filings, making November 2025's figure a 738-application increase (+1.5% YoY). The market is growing, if modestly. Second, the rolling 13-month data shows that October tends to represent a late-cycle surge before filings taper through the holiday period, a pattern visible in December 2024's 53,448 total followed by the January 2025 spike to 61,446 — almost certainly a calendar-year-opening rush of pent-up filings rather than organic demand. Third, November historically carries fewer business days due to the Thanksgiving holiday, compressing the filing window.

Status composition provides another important interpretive lens. Of November's 48,521 applications, a striking 48,303 (99.6%) remain pending, with only 79 abandoned and a mere 46 registered. This is not cause for concern — it simply reflects the extreme recency of these filings. The USPTO's examination queue means that applications filed in November 2025 will not receive their first office action for many months; registrations from this cohort are realistically 12–18 months away for straightforward cases. The same pattern is visible across the most recent months: September's 55,958 filings show only 487 registrations so far, and August's 53,710 show 1,014. The pipeline is functioning normally.

Key takeaway for practitioners: The November dip is seasonal noise. The YoY gain confirms a healthy, modestly growing filing environment heading into 2026. Counsel clients who deferred Q4 filings to prioritize early January submission to capitalize on the traditional January surge without getting lost in the post-holiday crowd.

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2. NICE Class Activity: Tech and Entertainment Hold the Top, Apparel Surges

The top fifteen NICE classes for November 2025 collectively underscore the continued dominance of technology, services, and consumer goods — but the precise ordering and magnitudes reveal interesting nuance.

Rank	NICE Class	Description	November Filings
1	009	Electronics, software, hardware	6,418
2	041	Education & entertainment services	6,361
3	035	Business & advertising services	5,456
4	025	Clothing, footwear, headgear	5,016
5	042	Scientific & tech services (SaaS)	4,880
6	003	Cosmetics & cleaning preparations	2,679
7	005	Pharmaceuticals & supplements	2,519
8	028	Toys & sporting goods	2,203
9	016	Paper goods & printed materials	2,147
10	021	Housewares & glass	2,132
11	036	Financial & insurance services	1,906
12	044	Medical & veterinary services	1,657
13	020	Furniture & fixtures	1,596
14	030	Staple foods	1,475
15	011	Lighting & HVAC apparatus	1,371

Class 009 retakes the top spot in November with 6,418 filings, edging out Class 041 (6,361) by the narrowest of margins. The two classes have been trading the lead throughout 2025, reflecting the blurred boundary between technology products (009) and the digital content, streaming, gaming, and educational platforms (041) that run on them. Together, these two classes accounted for nearly 26% of all November filings — a concentration that underscores how thoroughly the technology and media sectors have come to dominate U.S. trademark activity.

Class 035 (business and advertising services) held third place at 5,456, consistent with continued strong demand for branding of consulting, marketing, and e-commerce services. Class 025 (clothing) surged to 5,016, ranking fourth — a figure that likely reflects a combination of holiday-season brand launches in the apparel space, continued growth of direct-to-consumer fashion brands, and the extraordinary volume of athletic and streetwear mark filings that have become a structural feature of the docket.

Class 042 (software-as-a-service and technology services) maintained fifth place at 4,880, a consistent showing that tracks the ongoing demand for SaaS product branding, cloud services marks, and AI platform protection.

Class 028 (toys and sporting goods) at 2,203 filings is notable for November, where holiday product launches predictably drive last-minute brand protection efforts. Practitioners advising consumer goods clients should note that November filings in this class face a particularly challenging window: a mark filed November 26 may not receive its first USPTO action before Q3 2026, well after the holiday season in question.

Class 044 (medical and veterinary services) at 1,657 reflects ongoing dynamism in health-tech, telehealth, and pet-care branding, while Class 036 (financial services) at 1,906 continues to reflect fintech and cryptocurrency brand activity, even if that sector has moderated from its 2021–2022 peak.

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3. Registration Rates: Prosecution Performance Improving but Still Below Historical Peaks

The cohort-based registration data provides the clearest window into how USPTO examination is performing across the 12–24 month prosecution cycle. The picture is one of gradual normalization after a difficult mid-2024 period, though rates remain below the peaks seen in the December 2023–March 2024 window.

Cohort Month	Total Filed	Registered	Registration Rate
Dec 2023	44,912	23,574	52.5%
Jan 2024	47,974	24,508	51.1%
Feb 2024	43,753	20,023	45.8%
Mar 2024	48,950	23,187	47.4%
Apr 2024	51,569	22,394	43.4%
May 2024	51,528	22,047	42.8%
Jun 2024	46,699	15,339	32.8%
Jul 2024	50,668	14,348	28.3%
Aug 2024	50,377	12,112	24.0%
Sep 2024	51,260	19,540	38.1%
Oct 2024	52,923	22,928	43.3%
Nov 2024	47,783	19,876	41.6%

Several observations stand out.

The mid-2024 trough is real and significant. Applications filed in June, July, and August of 2024 show registration rates of 32.8%, 28.3%, and 24.0%, respectively — well below the 40–50%+ rates seen for cohorts from late 2023 and early 2024. This is not a data artifact; it reflects a genuine dip in prosecution success for applications filed during a period of heightened USPTO examination scrutiny, possible examiner staffing fluctuations, and increased office action rates that challenged applicants less prepared for the modern examination environment. The August 2024 cohort's 24.0% rate — roughly half the rate of the January 2024 cohort — is a striking outlier that warrants attention.

Recovery is underway. September through November 2024 cohorts show rates rebounding to 38.1%, 43.3%, and 41.6%, respectively, suggesting that the June–August trough was a transient phenomenon. The November 2024 rate of 41.6% is encouraging, though it still trails the 47–52% rates from Q1 2024. Importantly, these figures are not final — applications filed 12–13 months ago are still actively in prosecution, and the ultimate registration rates for the September–November 2024 cohorts will improve as more pending cases resolve. Practitioners should interpret these rates as floors, not ceilings.

Abandonment is a downstream risk. The high pending percentages in recent months (98–99% for July–November 2025 filings) mean that the true prosecution health of 2025 cohorts will not be measurable for many months. However, the August 2024 experience — which saw many applications still in early prosecution at the 12-month mark — serves as a useful caution against over-optimistic registration forecasts.

Practitioner implications: Counsel filing in competitive classes (009, 041, 035, 025) should set realistic client expectations around 12–18 month timelines to registration for uncontested marks, and 24–36 months or longer where likelihood-of-confusion refusals or descriptiveness issues arise. The data suggest that clients filing in mid-2024 who have not yet received registration notices should not be alarmed — the cohort-level data shows many such applications remain legitimately in process.

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4. Notable Filings: The AI Arms Race Reaches the Trademark Office

November 2025's notable filings read like a who's-who of the technology industry's current strategic priorities — and the dominant theme is unmistakably artificial intelligence.

Amazon Technologies, Inc. — "LEO" (Serial Nos. 99494670, 99513134, 99516140)

Amazon filed the mark LEO on no fewer than three occasions during November — November 13, 24, and 25 — suggesting either a multi-class strategy (covering different goods and services in separate applications) or iterative refinements to the identification of goods and services. The name "Leo" is widely associated with Amazon Web Services' AI-powered analytics and natural language query feature for Amazon Redshift, which launched in beta in late 2023. The clustering of these filings in late November suggests Amazon is moving to formalize protection across the full commercial footprint of the product as it matures. Practitioners advising clients in the cloud analytics or AI data services space should monitor these applications carefully.

Amazon also filed AMAZON CONNECT (99517611, filed November 26) and AWS EDUCATE (99510748, filed November 21). The former likely relates to Amazon's cloud-based contact center platform, while the latter covers AWS's educational programming initiatives — both representing systematic brand housekeeping for established product lines. The timing near month-end suggests coordinated portfolio management rather than reactive filings.

Google LLC — "GOOGLE TPU" and "IRONWOOD" (Serial Nos. 99509904 and 99509911)

Google's November 21 filing of GOOGLE TPU is significant because it formally asserts trademark rights in the name of its Tensor Processing Unit chips — proprietary AI accelerator hardware that has become central to Google Cloud's competitive positioning against Nvidia. The co-filing of IRONWOOD (99509911) the same day almost certainly refers to Google's sixth-generation TPU, announced in April 2025, cementing the brand architecture around its AI infrastructure hardware.

These filings signal that Google is treating its chip branding with the same seriousness it applies to software products, a development with implications for anyone operating in the AI hardware or cloud infrastructure naming space. The "Ironwood" name in particular — a strong, fanciful mark with no descriptive baggage — is likely to proceed smoothly through examination.

Samsung Electronics — "BESPOKE AI LAUNDRY DUO," "AI FOOD MANAGER," "MUSIC DISC," and "MUSIC STUDIO"

Samsung's November filings reveal a dual-track strategy: doubling down on AI-branded consumer appliances while expanding into consumer audio and entertainment. BESPOKE AI LAUNDRY DUO (99517975, November 26) and AI FOOD MANAGER (99514054, November 24) continue Samsung's aggressive "AI + appliance" naming campaign, placing the company squarely in the emerging conversation about what constitutes descriptive versus protectable AI branding — a debate that USPTO examiners are likely to resolve inconsistently across applicants in the near term.

The MUSIC DISC and MUSIC STUDIO filings (both November 17, filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.) alongside SHEALTH RESEARCH (filed by Samsung Research America) suggest a push into digital music tools and health data platforms. These marks may relate to Samsung's Galaxy ecosystem features, and their prosecution will be worth monitoring for conflicts with existing marks in the music software space.

Apple Inc. — "Q" and "PREVIEW 10X"

Apple's filing of the single-letter mark Q (Serial No. 99510524, November 21) is a particularly intriguing entry. Single-letter marks face a high bar at the USPTO — they are generally considered descriptive or non-distinctive absent proof of acquired distinctiveness — but Apple has successfully protected minimalist marks before (notably its apple logo and various short-form marks). The identification of goods and services will be critical in determining whether this application advances. PREVIEW 10X (99510270, November 21) likely relates to a camera or imaging feature, consistent with Apple's ongoing investment in computational photography branding.

Nike, Inc. — "NIKE MIND"

Nike's filing of NIKE MIND (99505727, November 19) is the brand extension that may generate the most consumer-facing interest. While Nike has long invested in performance technology branding (Nike Air, Nike React, Nike Flyknit), the "Mind" modifier suggests a move into the mental performance, wellness, or sports psychology space — a category seeing enormous investment from athletic brands in the wake of growing awareness around athlete mental health. Whether this represents a digital product, a training methodology, or a wearable line remains to be seen, but it signals Nike's intent to compete in mental wellness alongside the physical performance category.

DappleAi Co. — "IN THE BLINK OF AI" and "INTELLIGENCE FOR REAL PEOPLE"

Filed November 14, these two marks from DappleAi Co. are among the more creatively crafted AI-themed marks to reach the USPTO this cycle. IN THE BLINK OF AI is a clever wordplay on the idiom "in the blink of an eye," and while it may face scrutiny as a slogan mark (the USPTO applies heightened standards to slogans), its distinctiveness and memorability are genuine assets. INTELLIGENCE FOR REAL PEOPLE reads as a positioning statement aimed at democratizing AI — a crowded message in 2025, but one that, if properly supported, could achieve registration. Both marks underscore that smaller AI companies are increasingly sophisticated in their trademark strategy.

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5. Industry Growth Signals: Hardware, Home Goods, and Lace Trim Lead the Month

The month-over-month growth data identifies the NICE classes that expanded from October to November 2025, and the leaders are — somewhat unexpectedly — concentrated in physical goods rather than digital services.

Rank	NICE Class	Description	Oct Count	Nov Count	Growth
1	026	Lace, ribbons & embroidery	350	446	+27.4%
2	002	Paints & coatings	142	171	+20.4%
3	011	Lighting & HVAC apparatus	1,245	1,371	+10.1%
4	020	Furniture & fixtures	1,478	1,596	+8.0%
5	006	Common metals & metal goods	544	576	+5.9%
6	024	Textiles & textile substitutes	629	655	+4.1%
7	027	Floor coverings & wall hangings	209	216	+3.3%
8	021	Housewares & glass	2,113	2,132	+0.9%
9	017	Rubber & insulation materials	239	241	+0.8%
10	003	Cosmetics & cleaning preparations	2,730	2,679	−1.9%

Class 026 (lace, embroidery, ribbons, buttons, and haberdashery accessories) leads all classes with 27.4% month-over-month growth, jumping from 350 to 446 filings. While this class rarely commands attention in these reports, its November surge deserves scrutiny. Class 026 has become increasingly relevant to fashion and apparel brands that file separate applications for ornamentation and trim components, particularly brands in the activewear and accessories space building out comprehensive IP portfolios. The timing — immediately before the holiday shopping season — may reflect rushed brand protection for novelty accessories and decorative items. At these volumes, however, statistical noise cannot be ruled out; a handful of portfolio filers can move the needle significantly in smaller classes.

Class 002 (paints, coatings, and colorants) rose 20.4%, from 142 to 171 filings. While still a small class in absolute terms, this growth may reflect increased branding activity in the architectural coatings space (paint brands and home renovation products), possibly tied to the ongoing remodeling boom and the proliferation of DTC paint brands that have disrupted traditional distribution channels.

Classes 011 (lighting and HVAC) and 020 (furniture and fixtures) both posted substantial gains — 10.1% and 8.0%, respectively. Together, these classes signal strength in the home goods and smart home sectors heading into a period when consumers are actively evaluating home improvement and interior products. Class 011's growth is particularly worth noting given the rapid integration of AI and smart-home connectivity into lighting and climate control products — many of the new filings in this class likely describe products that blur the line between Class 009 (electronics) and Class 011 (appliances), creating multi-class filing obligations that practitioners should proactively advise clients about.

Class 024 (textiles and fabric substitutes) and Class 027 (floor coverings and wall hangings) also grew modestly, reinforcing the theme of a physical-goods November driven in part by seasonal retail product launches. The near-stagnation in Class 003 (cosmetics) — the only top-ten class to decline, by 1.9% — is a minor anomaly; this class typically surges in Q4 as beauty brands launch holiday gift sets and new formulations. The modest decline may simply reflect an early-October front-loading of beauty filings that didn't repeat in November.

What This Means for Practitioners

The concentration of growth in physical goods classes (026, 002, 011, 020, 024, 027) against a backdrop of dominant but stable tech classes (009, 041, 042) suggests two parallel brand economies operating simultaneously at the USPTO. The digital economy continues to generate enormous application volume in the top classes, but a physical goods resurgence — driven by smart home devices, home improvement brands, fashion accessories, and direct-to-consumer product companies — is quietly building market share on the docket.

For IP counsel, this creates several practical implications:

1. Multi-class strategies are increasingly necessary. A smart lighting product that connects to an app requires coverage in Class 009 (software), Class 011 (the physical fixture), and potentially Class 042 (cloud-based management services). Clients who file in only one class are leaving protection gaps that competitors will exploit.

2. The AI naming rush requires careful clearance work. With Amazon, Google, Samsung, and a growing roster of smaller companies racing to register AI-branded marks, the Class 009 and 042 search environments are becoming congested with phonetically similar marks (LEO, LEONINE, LEONA, etc.) and structurally similar compound marks (AI + [noun]). Thorough clearance searches are more important — and more time-consuming — than they were 24 months ago.

3. Single-letter and short-form marks will be tested. Apple's "Q" and Microsoft's "N" filings (the latter lacking even a visible mark name in the database record at time of this report) suggest that big tech is probing the boundaries of minimal mark protection. Examiners and practitioners alike should expect increased examination focus on whether these marks function as source identifiers in the relevant contexts.

4. Registration rate expectations should be recalibrated. Clients filing in 2025 should understand that the 52% registration rate achieved by December 2023 cohorts is not the current benchmark. The relevant comparison is the 41–43% range seen in October–November 2024 cohorts — and even those figures will rise as prosecution concludes. Setting client expectations around a 12–18 month timeline to first registration, with the possibility of extension, remains best practice.

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Looking Ahead to December 2025

December typically brings a modest dip in new filings as the calendar year closes, followed by the January surge as filers who calendared year-end brand initiatives finally execute. Based on the trailing 13 months, December 2025 is likely to land in the 50,000–54,000 range, broadly consistent with December 2024's 53,448 applications. If the AI investment cycle continues at its current pace, expect continued heavy activity in Classes 009 and 042, and watch for year-end portfolio housekeeping filings from major technology companies racing to establish priority dates before January 1, 2026.

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Data sourced from USPTO trademark filing records through November 30, 2025. Registration rates reflect applications resolved as of the report date and will continue to change as prosecution concludes for recent cohorts. NICE class descriptions are abbreviated for readability. This report is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.