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Trademark:

Any word, name, symbol, sound, device or color, or any combination thereof, used by a person, or which a person has a bona fide intent to use in commerce and applies to register on the Principal Register, which indemnifies and distinguishes his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured and sold by others and to indicate source of origin of goods, even if that source is unknown. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce.

Trademark Class:

Goods and services are classified by an international system, according to international treaties to which the United States is a signatory. All goods and services included in trademark applications are classified by the Office according to this system.

Trademark Application and Registration Retrieval:

TARR – USPTO’s online database for monitoring federal trademark applications and registrations. Using TARR, applicants, trademark owners and the public may check the status of pending trademark applications and registrations. To access information about a specific mark, users must provide the associated serial number or registration number of the record they seek.

Trademark Electronic Application System:

TEAS – USPTO’s electronic filing system. It may be used to file a variety of documents with the USPTO, including new trademark applications, amendments to allege use, statements of use, responses to Office actions, and changes of address, just to name a few.

Trademark Electronic Search System:

TESS – USPTO’s online database for searching pending, registered and dead federal trademarks. TESS is free and intended for use by the general public. Due to limitations of equipment and bandwidth, TESS is not intended to be a source for bulk downloads of USPTO data. Bulk data may be purchased from USPTO at cost (see the USPTO Products and Services Catalog). Individuals, companies, IP addresses, or blocks of IP addresses who, in effect, deny service to the general public by generating unusually high numbers of daily TESS accesses (searches, pages, or hits), whether generated manually or in an automated fashion, may be denied access to these servers without notice.

Trademark Image Capture & Retrieval System:

TICRS – A system used within the USPTO to scan, store and provide access to images of papers associated with trademark registrations.

Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure:

TMEP – a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to prosecution of applications to register marks in the USPTO. It contains guidelines for USPTO examining attorneys, trademark applicants and owners, and attorneys and representatives for trademark applicants and owners. The TMEP contains information about the trademark examination process, and outlines the procedures which examining attorneys are required or authorized to follow in the examination of trademark applications.

Trademark Ownership:

“First use” of a mark determines trademark ownership in the United States and the Philippines . First to file an application determines trademark ownership in the countries governed by the EPO.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board:

An administrative tribunal at the USPTO. It has jurisdiction over appeals from decisions of the Trademark Office, as well as opposition proceedings and cancellation proceedings.

Trade Name (1):

The term “trade name” or “commercial name” means any name used by a person to identify his or her business or vocation. Trade names are not registrable under the Lanham Act.

Trade Dress:

As it relates to product packaging and presentation. The protection of goods as they are presented to the consumer. If a competing product is packaged or presented to the consumer in such a way that it would deceive or confuse the consumer into believing that the product was actually another brand then a trade dress violation may be considered.

Trade Name (2):

A symbol used to identify and distinguish companies, partnerships, and businesses, as opposed to marks used to identify and distinguish goods or services. McDonalds is an example of a trade name.