T.M.E.P. § 104
Trademark Searching

Executive summary:

This document contains one section of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (the "TMEP"), Fourth Edition (April 2005). This page was last updated in June 2007. You may return to one either the section index, or to the key word index. If you wish to search the TMEP, simply use the search box that appears on the bottom of every page of BitLaw--be sure to restrict your search to the TMEP in the pop-up list.

For more information on trademark law, please see the Trademark Section of BitLaw.

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104 Trademark Searching

X-Search, the USPTO's computerized search system, contains text and images of registered marks, and marks in pending and abandoned applications. X-Search is used by examining attorneys when searching for conflicting marks during examination.

The public may conduct searches free of charge using TESS, on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov. Like X-Search, TESS provides access to text and images of registered marks, and marks in pending and abandoned applications. Additional information, including current status, for pending and registered trademarks can be obtained by entering the trademark serial number or registration number in the TARR database. See TMEP §108.01. TESS and TARR are available in Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries ("PTDLs") (see TMEP §112). X-Search is also available for public use in some of the PTDLs.

The public may also use the X-Search system and the Trademark Reporting and Monitoring ("TRAM") System without charge in the Trademark Search Library. The Search Library is located on the first floor of the James Madison Building - East Wing, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except on holidays. The Trademark Search Library also contains paper copies of registered marks and marks in pending applications, copies of State emblems and official signs and hallmarks of member countries of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, which are protected under Article 6ter of the Convention (see TMEP §1205.02) , and copies of the official insignia of state and federally recognized Native American tribes.

If a mark includes a design element, it can be searched by using a design code. To locate the proper design code(s), the public can use the Design Search Code Manual on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov.

USPTO personnel cannot conduct trademark searches for the public. Private trademark search firms will conduct searches for a fee. The USPTO cannot aid in the selection of a search firm or an attorney. 37 C.F.R. 2.11. Search firms are often listed in the yellow page section of telephone directories under the heading "Trademark Search Services" or "Patent and Trademark Search Services."

The public can search the trademark assignment records of the Assignment Services Division on the USPTO website at http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments. In addition, there is a Trademark Assignment Search Room in the Trademark Search Library that maintains records of transactions affecting the ownership of marks.