Office Action Decoder: Read a USPTO Office Action in Plain English

The Office Action Decoder explains a USPTO Office Action in plain English: what the examiner is asking for, when the response is due, and what examiners did next in similar cases. It is free, and you do not need an account. Open it at /office-action-decoder.

GleanMark explains the public USPTO record. It is not a law firm, and the Decoder is not legal advice.

Decoding a Letter

1. Paste the application's 8-digit serial number, or a TSDR link to the case.
2. Click Decode.

Or click the example under the box. A 7-digit number gets a note that it looks like a registration number.

The result opens at /office-action-decoder/<serial> and decodes the most recent Office Action GleanMark has read for that serial. As the page says: "New letters appear here about two days after the USPTO mails them."

Result links open without an account, so you can share them.

What the Result Shows

The mark and the letter

The top shows the mark, its serial number, an Open in TSDR link, the owner, and the goods or services by class. Three boxes follow:

• The letter: non-final or final, the date it was mailed, and how many issues it raises
• Response due: the due date and days left
• Examiner: the examining attorney's name, and how many similar refusals they issued in the months shown

The response date

The date is calculated from the letter's issue date.

Each issue

Each issue gets its own card, in the letter's order, with:

• The issue's name, such as Likelihood of confusion (Section 2(d))
• A label such as A refusal, not a requirement (a reason the examiner refuses to register the mark) or A requirement (for example, a disclaimer)
• One plain-English sentence on what the examiner is saying
• A short quote In the examiner's words when one is found, and a Read the full letter link

For a likelihood-of-confusion refusal, a card for the cited mark shows its owner, goods, dates, live or dead status, and a TSDR link. On wider screens, your application sits beside it. Up to three cited marks get cards; if the letter cites more, the page says how many.

If GleanMark has only part of the letter's text, or could not read its issues, the page says so.

Ways applicants answer

This card lists the usual ways applicants answer each kind of issue, such as arguing the marks differ, narrowing the goods, or asking the registrant for consent. A final Office Action adds reconsideration and an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The card says the list is in no particular order and is not a recommendation.

What examiners did next in similar cases

For a non-final letter with a likelihood-of-confusion or descriptiveness refusal, a chart shows what examiners did next for similar applications that answered the same kind of refusal. It is labeled Not a prediction for this case, and appears only when there are at least 100 similar applications.

Ready the moment you sign up

This box lists what an account adds, including deadline reminders for the mark and, when you ask, a first-draft response. Click Start free 7-day trial; no card is needed. After you sign up, you land on the mark's Office Action page, and GleanMark adds the mark to your new workspace. Signed in, the button opens the mark's workspace instead.

When the Decoder Cannot Show a Letter

If You Already Have an Account

Signed in, the full Office Action page is at /office-actions/<serial>. It comes with Professional, Max and higher plans, the 7-day trial and the day pass. See Office Actions.

Related Features

• Office Actions: Your Open Letters and the Office Action Page
• Office Action Research
• AI Office Action Response Drafting
• How GleanMark Tracks Your Deadlines