USPTO definition:
"word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods (services) of one party from those of others"
Renewable every 10 years if still in use
What am I protecting? What do I own?
The words in the context of the mark for the particular subject area.
Not the generic/descriptive words outside the context of the mark.
Pending Registrations
Federal Register
What makes a good trademark? Distinctiveness! Avoid confusion and confusing similarity!
USPTO Trademarks Portal
Trademark Basics (USPTO)
Trademarks Basics Booklet: Registration Toolkit (USPTO - pdf)
Apply Online - USPTO TEAS: Trademark Electronic Application System
Trademark Official Gazette (TMOG)
What is confusingly similar?
Likelihood of confusion includes: spellings, sound-a-likes, similar goods/services, consumers mistakenly believe the mark originates from the same source
Keywords, phrases, alternate spellings
Searching the Trademark Database
International Classifications: Trademark ID Manual
Is the mark in the same or a related subject area? Find trademarks used on goods and services related to yours.
Logos and Designs: Trademark Design Search Manual (also known as the Trademark Design Search Code Manual or TM-DSCM). Find trademarks that appear similar to yours using design search codes.
UW Engineering Library Trademark Searching Guide
Databases @ US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO):
USPTO Trademark Search **Replaced TESS (U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System) on November 30, 2023**
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Trademark Search system contains pending, registered, and dead federal trademarks. Online Help is available for search assistance. The "Announcements" section provides update-to-date information about database status and system development. More information from the USPTO: Search Our Trademark Database.
Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR): USPTO system to retrieve status information and to view and download documents for pending and registered trademarks. Check status and view documents.
Trademark Assignment Search: Finding trademark ownership information / Transferring ownership or changing name
®University of Washington
®Starbucks
Source: Trademark illustrations from publications or databases issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.