T.M.E.P. § 1503.01
Filing a Notice of Opposition

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.

Previous Section (§1503) | Next Section (§1503.02)

1503.01 Filing a Notice of Opposition

Any person who believes that he or she would be damaged by the registration of a mark on the Principal Register may oppose registration by filing a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and paying the required fee within thirty days after the date of publication or within an extension period granted by the Board for filing an opposition. See 15 U.S.C. 1063; 37 C.F.R. §§2.101 through 2.107; TBMP §§303 et seq.

The notice of opposition must include a concise statement of the reasons for the opposer's belief that the opposer would be damaged by the registration of the opposed mark, and must state the grounds for opposition. 37 C.F.R. 2.104(a); TBMP §§309.01 et seq.

A notice of opposition to an application based on §1 of §44 of the Trademark Act may be filed either on paper or through the Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals ("ESTTA") at http://estta.uspto.gov/. 37 C.F.R. 2.101(b)(1). A notice of opposition to an application based on §66(a) of the Act must be filed through ESTTA. 37 C.F.R. 2.101(b)(2). See In re Bšrlind Gesellschaft fŸr kosmetische Erzeugnisse mbH, 73 USPQ2d 2019 (TTAB 2005).

A notice of opposition does not have to be verified, and it may be signed by either the opposer or the opposer's attorney. 37 C.F.R. 2.101(b); TBMP §309.02(b).