Trademarks 101

Educational resources for brand owners and first-time filers. View all articles →

• Filing a U.S. Trademark From Outside the U.S.: The Five Routes

  In June 2025, most U.S. applications from owners outside the U.S. did not come through Madrid. The five routes into the U.S. register, what each requires, and how each fared.

  Oct 13, 2026
• Will Your Home Address Be Public If You File a Trademark?

  The USPTO requires your street address, but it hides it if you also give a different mailing address. Your email is another matter, and mistakes are very hard to undo.

  Oct 13, 2026
• How the Thirteen du Pont Factors Actually Get Weighed

  The thirteen factors were never a scoring rubric: two keystones decide most cases, any single factor can end one, and most of the rest move only when someone pays to put evidence in. The finale of our thirteen-part series, with the scoreboard of every case it covered.

  Oct 4, 2026
• Refusals 101, Part 2: Section 2(d) — The Register's Biggest Fight

  Section 2(d) is the most common substantive reason the USPTO refuses a trademark — and the one most likely to kill a name you've already fallen in love with. Here's what examiners actually compare.

  Sep 23, 2026
• Refusals 101, Part 1: What an Office Action Actually Is — and How Examiners Decide

  An office action is the examiner's formal letter telling you something's wrong. Most of it is fixable paperwork. The real fights are the substantive refusals — and examiners decide them by citing cases like judges.

  Jul 27, 2026
• Four Ways to Lose a Trademark Fight You Thought You'd Cleared

  xAI, a champagne widow, an Italian wine label, and a matcha bar — what the four prongs of du Pont Factor 1 (appearance, sound, meaning, commercial impression) look like in real refusals and TTAB cases.

  Jul 26, 2026
• Why MLB Can’t Trademark “Play Ball” — and the Only Company That Still Can

  MLB spent four and a half years trying to own the two words that start a baseball game, and lost in a 91-page refusal. Nineteen owners have tried since 1957. The only survivor sells bubble gum.

  Jul 24, 2026
• How to Check If a Business Name Is Already Trademarked (Before You Launch)

  Before you buy the domain, design the logo, or file the LLC, spend ten minutes making sure your name isn't already someone else's trademark. Here's exactly how — and the two mistakes that give founders false confidence.

  Jun 2, 2026
• Trademark Attorney Cost: What You'll Actually Pay in 2026

  How much does a trademark attorney cost? If you have searched for a straight answer, you have probably found vague ranges like "$500 to $5,000" that leave you no closer to an actual budget.

  Mar 2, 2026
• How to Trademark a Logo: Complete Design Protection Guide

  Your logo is often the first thing customers recognize about your brand. Before a single word registers, the shape, color, and design of your mark have already made an impression.

  Feb 26, 2026
• How to Trademark a Name: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

  Learning how to trademark a name is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your business.

  Feb 24, 2026
• Trademark Monitoring: The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Brand

  In fiscal 2025 alone, applicants filed more than 824,000 classes of goods and services in new USPTO trademark applications. Any one of those filings could conflict with your registered mark — and the USPTO won't flag it for you.

  Feb 23, 2026
• What Happens After Filing: The Trademark Examination Process Step by Step

  You have filed your trademark application. You have a serial number. Now what?

  Feb 22, 2026
• USPTO Fee Changes Explained: How to Avoid Surcharges

  On January 18, 2025, the most significant restructuring of USPTO trademark fees in years took effect.

  Feb 21, 2026
• TTAB Proceedings Explained: Oppositions, Cancellations & Appeals

  Every year, thousands of trademark disputes are decided not in a courtroom but before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board -- the TTAB.

  Feb 18, 2026
• Trademark Basics: The Complete Beginner's Guide

  If you are building a business or creating a brand, understanding trademark basics is one of the most important legal steps you can take.

  Feb 17, 2026
• Design Search Codes Explained: How the USPTO Classifies Visual Trademarks

  When you file a word mark like NIKE or APPLE, the USPTO can search for conflicts using text -- comparing letter sequences, phonetic similarity, and meaning.

  Feb 12, 2026
• Madrid Protocol: Complete Guide for US Filers

  Filing for trademark protection in multiple countries used to mean navigating separate legal systems, hiring local attorneys in every jurisdiction, and paying a small fortune in duplicated fees.

  Feb 8, 2026
• Section 8 and 9 Maintenance: Trademark Renewal Deadlines and Requirements

  Registering a trademark is a milestone, but it is not the finish line.

  Feb 6, 2026
• TEAS Plus vs Trademark Center: What Changed and How to File Now

  TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard ended on January 18, 2025. Here is how the old TEAS Plus rules map onto today's $350 base fee and surcharges, how filing works in Trademark Center, and which filings are still in TEAS.

  Feb 4, 2026
• The USPTO ID Manual: How to Select Goods and Services for Your Trademark

  Every trademark application requires a description of the goods or services the mark will cover. Get it right and your application moves forward smoothly at the lowest filing cost.

  Jan 31, 2026
• Free Trademark Lookup: How to Search the USPTO Database

  Before you invest real money and reputation in a name, GleanMark's fast, free trademark lookup tool helps you spot problems before you file — using the same federal trademark data the USPTO relies on, plus extra context the government site won't give you.

  Nov 29, 2025
• DuPont Factors Explained: Winning Likelihood-of-Confusion Trademark Refusals

  When the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examines a trademark application or when courts evaluate potential trademark infringement, the fundamental question is whether consumers are likely to be confused about the source of goods or services.

  Nov 13, 2025
• Understanding Your Trademark Status: The 15 TM5 Status Descriptors in Plain English

  TSDR shows a short status such as LIVE/APPLICATION/Awaiting Examination above the USPTO's own Status line. Here is what each of the 15 TM5 descriptors means, which ones call for action, and how they relate to USPTO status codes.

  Nov 12, 2025
• Trademark Life Cycle: Stages, Deadlines, and Maintenance Checklist

  A practical roadmap to the USPTO process—from filing under §1(a) or §1(b), through examination, publication, registration, and long-term maintenance—with links to the official rules and a summary timeline you can share with your team.

  Nov 11, 2025
• Trademark vs. .com Domain — Which Matters More?

  Entrepreneurs launching a new brand face a critical early decision: should they prioritize securing a.com domain or filing a trademark application?

  Nov 5, 2025
• Creative Brand Naming Strategies: Tips for Building a Distinctive Trademark

  A distinctive brand name is the foundation of a successful trademark. It should capture your company’s identity and resonate with customers while being legally protectable.

  Nov 3, 2025
• Domains, Social Handles and Cybersquatting: What a Trademark Gets You

  A lookalike domain with two extra letters nearly diverted $800,000 of payments meant for GE Aerospace. GE got the domain back in 51 days for a $1,500 fee, but no money. What a trademark does and does not get you online.

  Oct 20, 2025
• International Trademark Protection and the Madrid Protocol

  As your business expands abroad, securing trademark rights in other countries becomes critical. Trademark rights are territorial; registration in the United States does not extend beyond its borders.

  Oct 6, 2025
• Dilution, Genericide and Other Threats to Your Brand

  Protecting a trademark involves more than stopping direct infringers. Famous and strong marks face unique threats such as dilution, genericide and misuses that weaken their distinctiveness.

  Sep 22, 2025
• Trademark Infringement vs. Counterfeiting: What’s the Difference?

  Trademark owners often use the terms "infringement" and "counterfeiting" interchangeably, but they refer to different types of violations with distinct legal implications.

  Sep 8, 2025
• Enforcing Your Trademark Rights: Monitoring and Policing Your Brand

  Obtaining a registration is only half of the journey. Trademarks are valuable only if you enforce them.

  Aug 25, 2025
• Responding to Office Actions and Overcoming Refusals

  Receiving an office action from the USPTO can feel daunting, but it is a common part of the trademark application process.

  Aug 11, 2025
• Trademark Application Fees and Processing Times: Plain-English Guide

  Before filing a trademark, it’s important to understand the costs involved and how long the process will take. Planning your budget and timeline helps you allocate resources and manage expectations.

  Jul 28, 2025
• Filing Your Trademark Application via TEAS: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

  After choosing a strong, available mark and preparing your application materials, you are ready to file with the USPTO.

  Jul 14, 2025
• How to Conduct a Trademark Search Like a Pro

  A thorough search is the most cost‑effective step you can take before filing. Performing a proper search reduces the risk of costly office actions, oppositions and infringement lawsuits.

  Jun 30, 2025
• Preparing to File: Key Steps Before You Apply

  Before you click "Submit" on a trademark application, invest time in preparation. Filing without proper groundwork can lead to refusals or wasted resources.

  Jun 16, 2025
• Do Trademarks Expire? How a Registration Dies, and What It Costs

  In 2025 the USPTO canceled 143,150 U.S. trademark registrations because their owners missed the six-year declaration of use. Of the registrations issued in 2018, 53.4% did not survive that deadline.

  Jun 2, 2025
• What Can Be Trademarked? Examples and Limitations

  Trademarks extend beyond names to include a wide range of brand elements. Under U.S.

  May 19, 2025
• TM vs SM vs ®: What Each Trademark Symbol Means and How to Type It

  ™ and ℠ need no filing. ® is only for a mark the USPTO has registered, and only for the goods or services the registration lists. Here is what each symbol means and how to type it.

  May 5, 2025
• How to Choose a Strong Trademark for Your Startup

  Selecting a trademark is both a creative exercise and a legal evaluation.

  Apr 21, 2025
• The Spectrum of Distinctiveness: How Strong Is Your Mark?

  Trademark law categorizes marks along a spectrum from strongest to weakest. Fanciful marks are invented words with no meaning outside their use as a brand, such as KODAK or EXXON[26].

  Apr 7, 2025
• Types of Trademarks: Word Marks, Logos, Slogans, Sounds and More

  Trademarks are not limited to names or logos. The USPTO recognizes a wide range of identifiers that can function as trademarks — any symbol, word, phrase, design, sound, color, or combination that identifies and distinguishes the source of goods or services.

  Mar 24, 2025
• Why Register Your Trademark? Benefits Beyond Common‑Law Rights

  Using a mark in commerce confers common‑law rights, but those rights are confined to the geographic area where the mark is used[17].

  Mar 10, 2025
• Trademark vs. Patent vs. Copyright: What Each Protects, Costs and Lasts

  Coca-Cola shows three kinds of intellectual property on one product: the bottle's design patents ran out by 1951, while its trademarks are still being renewed. What each right protects, costs and how long it lasts.

  Feb 24, 2025
• What is a Trademark? Definition, Purpose and Common Misconceptions

  A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, design or combination used to identify goods or services and distinguish them from those of others.

  Feb 10, 2025