U.S. Trademark Registration Application
A federal trademark registration is obtained by filing an application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The application is assigned to an examiner who will conduct a search for similar registered trademarks that might be confusingly similar to the applicant’s trademark. The examiner will also evaluate whether the mark can function as a trademark. Words or phrases that are generic for the goods or services, or merely descriptive of them, cannot serve as trademarks and will be refused registration. The examiner will correspond with the applicant or the applicant’s attorney (called “prosecution” of the application), and if the mark is ultimately found to be capable of serving as a trademark or service mark, and not likely to be confused with an earlier registered mark, it will advance to allowance or registration, depending on the type of registration filed.