Manuals, Guides, Official Gazette

Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP)

The TMEP provides trademark examining attorneys in the USPTO, trademark applicants, and attorneys and representatives for trademark applicants with a reference work on the current law, practices, and procedures relative to prosecution of applications to register marks in the USPTO.  The Manual contains guidelines for examining attorneys and materials in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the procedures that examining attorneys are required or authorized to follow in the examination of trademark applications. 

Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual)

The ID Manual lists identifications of goods and services and their respective classifications that the USPTO examining attorneys will accept without further inquiry if the specimens of record support the identification and classification.  The listing is not exhaustive, but is intended to serve as a guide to both examining attorneys in acting on applications and to filers in preparing applications.  Using language directly from the ID Manual helps avoid objections by examining attorneys concerning “indefinite” identifications of goods or services; however, applicants must assert actual use in commerce or a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce for the goods or services specified. Therefore, even with definite identification, examining attorneys may inquire as to whether the identification chosen accurately identifies the applicant’s goods or services.

Other trademark classification resources include the International Schedule of Classes of Goods and Services.

Official Gazette (OG)

Every Tuesday, the USPTO issues the OG, a publication that contains a depiction of the mark, the identification of goods and/or services, and owner information for: (1) marks published for opposition on the Principal Register; (2) marks registered on the Principal Register under 15 U.S.C. §1051(d); (3) marks registered on the Supplemental Register on the date of the particular issue in which the marks appear; and (4) updated registration certificates.  The OG is presented in a .PDF format and is available for the fifty-two (52) most recent issues.  NOTE: Notices, such as changes in rules or Office procedures and notices to parties who cannot be reached by mail, do not appear in the electronic OG , but instead are available at  http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/index.html .

Trademark Examination Guides, Notices and Announcements

Examination guides, notices, and rules changes issued prior to October 12, 2009 have been incorporated in and/or superseded by the 6th edition of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) (6th ed., Oct. 2009). This page will be updated to include any examination guides, notices, or rules changes issued subsequent to the publication of the 6th edition of the TMEP.

Design Search Code Manual

The USPTO assigns all marks containing design figurative elements a 6-digit numerical code(s) for searching purposes.  This manual indexes the categories, divisions, and sections that make up these codes.  For example, a single five-pointed star would be coded in category 01 (celestial bodies, natural phenomena and geographical maps), division 01 (stars, comets) and section 03 (single star with five points), resulting in a complete design code of 01.01.03.  The design search code manual also contains explanatory notes and specific guidelines that provide instructions for specific code sections, cross-reference notes that direct users to other code categories, sections and divisions, and notes describing elements that are included or excluded from a code section.