Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) FAQs

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Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - General

You can call the TTAB Assistance Center at 571-272-8500 during normal business hours, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. For General Information press [4]; to speak with an Information Specialist press [0].

The Information Specialists are available to:

  • answer telephone inquiries
  • explain how to access pertinent legal provisions and related administrative practices
  • provide status information on pending cases
  • provide access to the files of pending cases
  • assist in resolving problems

There are two types of proceedings before the TTAB, an ex parte appeal from denial of your application for registration by an examining attorney, and an inter partes opposition, cancellation, concurrent use or interference proceeding.

In most cases, the Information Specialists can answer your questions, or can refer you to the appropriate person to handle your concern. However, if you need additional help, you may ask the Information Specialist to refer your call to the appropriate TTAB supervisor.

Trademark-related mail to be delivered by hand or other private courier or delivery service (e.g. UPS, Federal Express) to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, must be delivered to:

The Trademark Assistance Center

Madison East, Concourse level Room C55

600 Dulany Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

No. Effective Jan. 14, 2017, all filings to the TTAB must be submitted through TTAB's Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals "ESTTA". Trademark Rule 2.195(d)(3) bars facsimile transmission of papers to be filed with the TTAB. Submissions filed by fax transmission will not be accorded a date of receipt. The TTAB will not accept any filings by email.

Case files are public records and are open to the public for review, except for certain documents filed under a claim of confidentiality. The easiest way to review a file is through the electronic system, TTABVUE.

To look at a file, you can review or print it out yourself using TTABVUE. TTAB records submitted prior to approximately 2001 are kept in paper.  An individual who wishes to inspect or copy one of the paper files is directed to the National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/research.

No, we do not fax or email papers to parties or other persons requesting copies. You can review or print papers from a file through TTABVUE.

You can refer to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure "TBMP". The TTAB also follows the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

You can access TTAB decisions from 11/19/1996 to the present in the TTAB Reading Room. You can also access this webpage through the TTAB homepage under “Board receipts & issued decisions.”

Yes, all of the rule changes came into effect on the same date, Jan. 14, 2017.

Yes, the rule changes apply to all proceedings, including those pending on Jan. 14, 2017. This also includes proceedings instituted prior to 2007 that are still pending.

Yes. For ex parte appeals, a suggested format is “October 10, 2015 Office Action at 2.” For inter partes appeals, the suggested format is “1 TTABVUE 2.”

Filing

Too many browsers were open when resuming the save session. To successfully resume a save session, close all browsers and re-open the save session using the link within the email you received after saving.

The save session unlocks itself within 2 hours. After 2 hours, close all browsers and return to the save session using the email link.  If it's been two hours, contact the TTAB Assistance Center during normal business hours to have it unlocked.

Close all browsers, restart the filing and start a new save session. Before resuming the new save session from the link within the new email, ensure all browsers are closed.

When in ESTTA, use the “Save Session” button to save your session. Then, enter the email address of the other user. ESTTA will next email the other user a link to your saved document. Once the document is reviewed and signed, the other user should save the draft using the “Save Session” button. ESTTA will then send an email to you with a link to the document, so that you may further work on the document or submit it to the TTAB.  You may find information on saving a session in the ESTTA User’s Guide.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Filing

All submissions must be filed electronically through the TTAB’s electronic filing system ESTTA. Please keep your ESTTA tracking number as it may be needed to retrieve submissions that do not display correctly or fix submissions that display incorrectly.

ESTTA works only if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 11 and Google Chrome Version 43, on PC architecture. While every effort has been made to use standard programming, the USPTO cannot guarantee that ESTTA will function properly using browsers or operating systems other than those identified here. NOTE: Internet Explorer on the Macintosh platform will NOT permit a proper image attachment.

The ESTTA User Manual provides detailed instructions. General information is also available on the ESTTA Welcome page.

If ESTTA is down and you have time left to wait, wait for ESTTA to come back online and file online. If not, for extensions of time to file an opposition, a notice of opposition,  petition to cancel or answer, file the submission in paper along with a petition to the director, pursuant to 37 CFR 2.146, to request paper filing, and the fees to cover the paper pleading or extension of time, and the petition. To see a complete list of TTAB Fees, select the current Fee Schedule from the USPTO Fees page, then scroll to Trademark Processing Fees 6401/7401. The petition to the director must be based on technical problems with ESTTA or extraordinary circumstances. Include an affidavit or declaration and any other available evidence to support your assertion, e.g., screen print showing ESTTA problem. For all other submissions (e.g., response to a motion) file with the TTAB in paper and include a written explanation as to why you could not file online. The explanation must be based on technical problems with ESTTA or extraordinary circumstances.

For the paper filing you may use the certificate of mailing process and put the filing in a USPS mailbox and the submission will be considered as being timely filed if it is mailed prior to expiration for the set time period.

Use ESTTA and select the “Consent Motions (opposition or cancellation)” option under the “File Documents in a Board Proceeding” option and choose the appropriate form.

Use ESTTA and select the “Opposition, Cancellation, or Concurrent Use (General Filings)” option under the “File Documents in a Board Proceeding” form. Be sure to serve the motion on the other side, and include a certificate of service, see TBMP § 113.

 In general, no. If you accidentally filed confidential material through ESTTA without flagging it as confidential, we can change the status of the item so that it cannot be viewed publicly. You will usually be required to submit a public, redacted version of the item so it can be viewed in the electronic file.

Contact an Information Specialist at 571-272-8500 and provide the ESTTA tracking number shown on your filing receipt. TTAB staff will track it down and call you back with the information.

Contact an Information Specialist at 571-272-8500 and provide the ESTTA tracking number shown on your filing receipt. TTAB staff should be able to retrieve the document.

There is no ESTTA form for this type of a filing. File your combined pleading through ESTTA first as a notice of opposition under the application serial number(s) that you wish to oppose. Then file a separate petition to cancel the registration(s) you wish to cancel and include a motion to consolidate.

The better practice is to send in as separate papers in the same envelope with separate checks for the petition and filing fees. If you are able to file the petition to the director through TEAS include a note in the paper filing that you filed the petition to the director through TEAS. To see a complete list of TTAB Fees, select the current Fee Schedule from the USPTO Fees page, then scroll to Trademark Processing Fees 6401/7401.

If a defendant's email address is of record and authorized for communication, the notice will go out immediately, but you should check online after a couple of hours because sometimes there is a delay in the electronic processing. If we do not have an authorized email for the defendant, the notice of institution will be processed by a paralegal and may take a few days, depending on the workload.

The TTAB does not accept testimony or other exhibits in CD or DVD format. However, the TTAB has limited exceptions for multimedia exhibits, for example, if an exhibit is a commercial on a DVD, it may be submitted by mail addressed to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451. Please include the proceeding number, the testimony under which it is submitted and any other appropriate identifying information.

Every paper filed in an opposition, cancellation, concurrent use or interference case must be served by email on the other party or parties to the proceeding. This means a copy of the filing must be emailed to the other party. Proof of service must be attached to the paper you file with the TTAB. This is a statement signed by the attorney or other authorized representative, stating the date of service and the manner in which service was made. Parties may stipulate to another form of service (e.g., another form of electronic service or by mail). In addition, if email service is not possible and the parties have not stipulated to another form of service, a party may choose from six options and explain why service could not be made via email. See TBMP § 113 for a complete explanation of service requirements.

The certificate of mailing procedure applies only to submissions filed in paper form via U.S. mail. It allows that, except in certain instances, correspondence required to be filed by a certain date will be considered as timely filed, even though it was not received by the TTAB until after the expiration of the set period. See TBMP § 111 for a complete explanation of the certificate of mailing procedure.

No. Pleadings, motions, briefs, depositions, testimony, etc. are all required to be submitted electronically via ESTTA. Video depositions or testimony are specifically not allowed. However, media evidence that cannot be submitted any other way (such as a movie, television show, or radio commercial), may be submitted on an appropriate medium such as DVD.

PLAN AHEAD. Because unexpected problems can occur, you should keep filing deadlines in mind and allow plenty of time to resolve any issue which might arise. The TTAB will provide general assistance to ESTTA filers, but we cannot guarantee that any problem will be resolved prior to a deadline. ESTTA filing is mandatory for all submissions. If prior to a deadline ESTTA is unavailable due to technical problems or extraordinary circumstances are present, submissions (except for extensions of time to oppose or notices of opposition to a Madrid Protocol application) may be filed in paper form. A Petition to the Director with the required showing and fee must accompany a paper-filed extension of time to oppose, notice of opposition, petition to cancel or answer. All other paper filings must be accompanied by a written explanation of such technical problems or extraordinary circumstances. Please note, if the required showing is not met the paper may not be considered. In addition, paper filings may have higher fees. To see a complete list of TTAB Fees, select the current Fee Schedule from the USPTO Fees page, then scroll to Trademark Processing Fees 6401/7401. Extensions of time to oppose and notices of opposition to Madrid Protocol applications, must be filed through ESTTA without exception.

Currently, this field is for viewing only. Please use the General Filings change of correspondence address form under "File Documents in a Board Proceeding" and the assigned Paralegal will process the change of address in due course.

These are determined on a case by case basis.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Fees

Depending on the type of proceeding, fees vary. To see a complete list of TTAB Fees, select the current Fee Schedule from the USPTO Fees page, then scroll to Trademark Processing Fees 6401/7401. Please note effective Jan. 14, 2017 certain extensions of time to file an opposition require fees.

You may pay your fee by check or money order (payable to "Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office"), credit card, deposit account, or by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Most fees can be paid online over the USPTO website. For details on each of these payment methods visit the USPTO Fees page.

The better practice is to send in separate checks. To see a complete list of TTAB Fees, select the current Fee Schedule from the USPTO Fees page, then scroll to Trademark Processing Fees 6401/7401.

Yes.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Proceedings

You can file an appeal to the TTAB. You must file the appeal within the time provided in 37 C.F.R. § 2.62(a) from the date of the final refusal to register. For more information, see TBMP Chapter 1200.

Yes, the filing of a letter of protest, whether before or after publication of the mark, does not stay the time for filing an opposition or an extension of time to oppose the subject mark. If a party files a letter of protest before publication but the subject mark still publishes for opposition, then the party must timely file a request for extension of time to oppose, if it wishes to preserve its right to oppose. Similarly, if a party that files a letter of protest after publication wishes to preserve its right to oppose, it too must file a timely request for an extension of time to oppose. Regardless of when the letter of protest was filed, if the subject mark has published for opposition, the party may choose to file a notice of opposition instead of a request for extension of time to oppose and request that the opposition be suspended pending a determination of the letter of protest. See TBMP § 215. Note: a Letter of Protest is considered good cause for the first 90-day request to extend time to file an opposition, but does not constitute extraordinary circumstance to grant the final 60-day request to extend time. Potential opposer will have to secure the consent of the applicant or file a notice of opposition within the time set.

Unfortunately, you have missed your opportunity to file an opposition. Time limits for filing Notices of Opposition or Requests for Extensions of Time to Oppose are strictly enforced. You may file a petition to cancel, after the trademark registers. It takes about three months from the close of the opposition period (including extensions) until a registration issues if the case is not an Intent to Use case. It may take much longer for an Intent to Use case to mature to registration. Check the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval database "TSDR" to see if it has registered.

No. Before an opposition is filed, including the extensions of time period, an amendment or an express abandonment should be filed with the Trademark Office, and can electronically be filed through the Trademark Electronic Application System "TEAS".

An opposition is a proceeding in which one party is seeking to prevent registration of another party's trademark. Under the law, if a party believes that he will be damaged by the registration of a mark, he can file an opposition. For more information, see TBMP § 102.02.

A cancellation is a proceeding in which a party seeks to cancel an existing registration of a mark. Under the law, a person who believes he will be damaged by the registration may file a petition to cancel. For more information, see TBMP § 102.02.

To get an extension of time, you must file a motion. Your motion may be contested. If it is not contested, it will be granted as conceded. If the motion is contested it may be denied, so you may wish to get the consent of the other side and file the motion with their consent. See TBMP § 509.

You must file a motion to the TTAB asking that the TTAB accept a late-filed answer. In your motion, you must to set forth the reasons why the filing is late. The TTAB will consider whether you have shown good cause to set aside the default. Do not forget to serve a copy on the other side, including a certificate of service, see TBMP § 113. You may also want to confirm that your mailing address is correct.

Your answer will be due on the next business day. See TBMP § 112.

No, written disclosures or disclosed documents, requests for discovery, and materials or depositions obtained through the discovery process should not be filed with the Board except when submitted with a motion relating to disclosure or discovery, or in support of or response to a motion for summary judgment, or under a notice of reliance, when permitted, during a party's testimony period.

If any party wishes to have a TTAB professional participate in the required discovery conference, the party must either call the TTAB attorney assigned to the case or file a request through ESTTA. Such request should be made no later than 10 days prior to the deadline for conducting the discovery conference, so as to facilitate completion of the conference by the deadline. Filing a request using ESTTA is preferred; however, parties are encouraged to follow up a few days later with a phone call to the Board attorney assigned to the case if they have not yet been contacted by a TTAB attorney. See TBMP § 401.01.

You must file a document stating what you wish to do. However, once an answer is filed, if you want the matter dismissed without prejudice, you will need to obtain the written consent of the other side; and, of course, you need to serve the other party to the proceeding with a copy of anything you file. If you do not obtain written consent, the proceeding will be dismissed with prejudice.

If a proceeding has been commenced and is still pending at the TTAB, you or your counsel must file the amendment with the TTAB. The Examining Attorney does not have jurisdiction over the case while a proceeding is pending at the TTAB. The TTAB will consider the amendment and, if appropriate, enter it into the application file. See TBMP § 514. However, if an opposition is not yet pending, and the application is only under threat of an opposition because of the filing of an extension of time to oppose, you or your attorney may file a post publication amendment. If you wish to file such an amendment, you may do so by using the post publication amendment form available on-line via the Trademark Electronic Application System "TEAS". In the latter circumstance, you and the potential opposer should note that the Board will not suspend the running of the extended opposition period to accommodate processing of the post publication amendment.

Yes. See 15 U.S.C. § 1058 and TMEP § 1604.

No. See 15 U.S.C. § 1065 and TMEP § 1605.

No. In order to introduce USPTO records into evidence you must follow the correct procedure. For more information please see TBMP Chapter 700 on Trial Procedure and the Introduction of Evidence.

There are several organizations you can contact regarding ADR.

When no answer has been filed, all other deadlines are tolled. If the parties have continued to litigate after an answer is late‑filed, it will generally be viewed as a waiver of the technical default.

No. After the close of the time period for filing a Notice of Opposition, the notice may not be amended to add a joint opposer. However, assignees and successors may be joined or substituted during a proceeding, even when they are "joined," they are not considered joint opposers.

Motions for summary judgment must be filed prior to the deadline for plaintiff’s pretrial disclosures for the first testimony period.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Pro Se

While you can represent yourself in a TTAB proceeding, you might wish to consider hiring an attorney to represent you. An opposition or cancellation proceeding is just like a case in court. Even if you do not have an attorney, you will be expected to follow the Rules of Practice for the TTAB and the Federal Rules of Evidence, which are followed by the TTAB. You may find it difficult to properly conduct your case without legal counsel.

No, the TTAB cannot recommend an attorney to you. However, the TTAB Pro Bono Clearinghouse Program recognizes organizations that coordinate free legal services to members of the public in proceedings before the TTAB, and who might not otherwise have affordable access to legal assistance (such as financially under-resourced individuals, small-to-medium-enterprises, and not-for-profit and nonprofit or charitable organizations with low operating budgets.) Currently, the  International Trademark Association (INTA) Pro Bono Clearinghouse is recognized by TTAB. Also visit USPTO's Inventor and entrepreneur resources webpage to locate resources by state.

No. The TTAB is the administrative body that decides ex-parte appeals, oppositions, cancellations and concurrent use proceedings. For this reason, we must remain impartial. We can offer general factual information about TTAB procedure, but no TTAB employee may advise you on your case. We cannot discuss how the rules and law apply to your individual circumstances, cannot recommend a course of legal action, and cannot comment on how your case may be decided.

You can refer to the TTAB's Manual of Procedure "TBMP". The TTAB also follows the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

First, you will need to file an answer within the time stated in the order you received from the TTAB. In your answer, for each numbered paragraph you see in the notice of opposition, you should indicate the number and then admit or deny the statement, or state that you are without enough information to admit or deny the statements made in these numbered paragraphs. It is possible that you may have certain defenses that should be stated as well, but we cannot give you any advice on those, which is why we recommend that you obtain the advice of an attorney. It may be helpful for you to read the TTAB Manual of Procedure "TBMP".

An inter partes proceeding before the Board is similar to a civil action (trial) in a federal district court. The parties file pleadings, a range of possible motions, discovery (a party’s use of discovery depositions, interrogatories, requests for production of documents and things, and requests for admission to ascertain the facts underlying its adversary’s case), a trial period, and briefs, followed by a decision on the merits of the proceeding. You can review the Board’s manual of procedure, the TBMP, for more information.

You can check the electronic file in TTABVUE. You can also call the TTAB Information Specialists at 571-272-8500 to request information on the status of your case.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Rule Changes

All of the rule changes came into effect on Jan. 14, 2017 and are applicable to all proceedings including those pending on Jan. 14, 2017.

Yes. The effective date has been set a few months after publication of the rules in order to allow parties time to adjust their docketing schedules.

Yes. The effective date was set a few months after publication of the rules on Oct. 7, 2016 in order to allow parties time to adjust their docketing schedules.

Yes. The effective date has been set a few months after publication of the rules in order to allow parties time to adjust their docketing schedules.

Yes, even though the pretrial disclosure was served before the effective date of the new rules you may present the testimony of those disclosed witnesses by affidavit or declaration if your trial period is open on or after Jan. 14, 2017.

No. The Board will issue a notice of institution and serve the complaint on the defendant in the form of a web link or web address to access the complaint and proceeding on TTABVUE.

The duty to supplement under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) continues after close of discovery.

Trademark Help - Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) - Status Information

You can check the electronic file in TTABVUE. You can also call the TTAB Information Specialists at 571-272-8500 to request information on the status of your case. Please be aware that the Information Specialists also use TTABVUE and likely will have no different information. Otherwise, allow a reasonable period of time to pass before calling to check status. In the rare instances, due to technical difficulties with ESTTA or extraordinary circumstances, a submission was filed by hand, traditional mail, or a delivery service, it may take some time for such newly filed papers to reach the TTAB and be processed. In contrast, submissions filed electronically appear in the record almost immediately.

When you file you should have received an ESTTA tracking number. Most papers filed electronically are uploaded immediately to TTABVUE, and you should be able to see your filing there. If your submission is not showing, or there is another problem with the submission, you can call the Information Specialist, explain the problem, and provide the ESTTA tracking number. If they are not able to resolve the problem, they will notify the TTAB’s IT specialist.

Check TTABVUE to see whether an answer has been entered in the file. If not, the TTAB sets the call-back date for entry of a notice of default about 10 days after the answer was due. You will receive a copy of the notice of default and/or email notification when a notice of default issues. If an answer has been filed on paper it will be scanned into TTABVUE and you should be able to view it there.

Our goal is to decide contested motions in less than three months. Your case will be decided in turn. If you have not received something from us after four months, you may call to check the status of your motion. For further pendency information, see the TTAB’s Dashboard.

Presently, the TTAB is rendering decisions in ex-parte appeals approximately 10 weeks after all briefs have been submitted or after a hearing date. Up to date pendency information can be found on the TTAB’s Dashboard.

Presently, the TTAB is rendering decisions in these proceedings approximately 10 weeks after the case is ready for decision. Up to date pendency information can be found on the TTAB’s Dashboard.

Presently, the TTAB is rendering decisions on these filings approximately 10 days after the filing date of a consented motion or 10 days after a response to an unconsented motion was due.

TTAB Center

To log into TTAB Center, click on the notice of opposition form under File new submission. You will need to create a USPTO.gov account with two-step authentication and verify your identity before you can log in to access the forms. 

You can preview the forms without logging in on our form previews page (to be updated in future). For the latest information or to create a USPTO.gov account, review the MyUSPTO Account FAQ Page.

 

If you have questions about TTAB Center, call the TTAB Assistance Center at 571-272-8500 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) or at ESTTA@uspto.gov. If you want general information about TTAB proceedings, email TTABInfo@uspto.gov.

You will receive an alert after 28 minutes of inactivity and will be prompted with an option to extend your session for an additional 30 minutes. TTAB Center must terminate user sessions after 30 minutes of inactivity to comply with NIST Special Publication 800-63B: Digital Identity Guidelines for all federal information systems.

If you discover a bug while using TTAB Center, call the TTAB Assistance Center at 571-272-8500 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from Monday-Friday or email ESTTA@uspto.gov.

Attorney support users can prepare notices and submit notices of oppositions, but the attorney must sign them before they're submitted.

A draft will appear in the "My active draft" tab on My TTAB Docket page until the filing deadline for the draft submission has passed. After that, the draft will appear in the "My expired drafts" tab on the My TTAB Docket page.

You can use the "Save session" button on any page to save the draft.

Yes, you can upload a pleaded mark image in color.

A PDF file is the only acceptable format.

Your files can be up to 6 megabytes each. You may include more than one PDF, but the combined size of all attached files must be less than 53 megabytes.

You can find sponsorship information in the sponsorship section on the identification verification for trademark filers FAQ page.

You can find more information about using TTAB Center on the TTAB Center webpage.

You can select multiple documents by opening the directory or dragging and dropping documents into the upload field.

To add your email address when filing a notice of opposition: 

  1. Go to ESTTA
  2. In the "Type of filing" field, select "Change of Address"
  3. Enter the serial number
  4. Select the Proceeding Type for the extension of time to oppose
  5. Add your email address into the extension record and submit.

TTAB Center will then display the extension under your available extensions within two hours.

We don’t allow the following special characters in a file name: ( ‘ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) { } | ).

You can find MyUSPTO and USPTO.gov information on the MyUSPTO and USPTO.gov account FAQ page.

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