StepsToATrademark.com


66-86% of USPTO trademark applications receive a refusal of some type and new rules on specimens make it even tougher


Using USPTO TESS to Trademark Search

TESS is for searching all pending and registered  USPTO Trademarks and viewing Trademark images.  

There are three choices available for searching: Basic Word Mark Search (New User) | Word and/or Design Mark Search (Structured)  | Word and/or Design Mark Search (Free Form)  | . If you are not familiar with the system, you may want to start on a Basic Word Mark Search. See TESS page below for the ‘Select a Search Option ‘. See Published for Opposition search instructions for specific search instructions on how to use TESS for searching for marks that have been published for opposition.

Word and/or Design Mark Search (Structured) is a good way to search both a trademark and related goods or services at the same time. To search for related goods or services, search both the international classification and the generic description of the goods/services.

Word and/or Design Mark Search (Free Form) involves using operators (see list below).





























The list of search operators for USPTO TESS freeform trademark searches are:











































USPTO TESS Help {or How to Search Using USPTO TESS}

The following section is extracted from the USPTO TESS Help which is found at http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=help&state=4001:pxr8k3.1.1#Intro. There are a number of additions that are {in brackets}.  A number of section have been deleted. “We” as referring to the USPTO has been replaced with “The USPTO” where applicable. Where the original USPTO TESS Search Help had date search examples in 1999 and other dates, any new sections are added after the original sections and are marked NEW EXAMPLES.

Introduction

The [USPTO] Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) supports the trademark application process by providing for searching the existing trademark application and registration information via an Internet browser. TESS provides access to the same text and image database of trademarks as currently provided to examining attorneys at the US Patent and Trademark Office via the X-Search system {X-Search is not open to the public}.

The date of the last update to TESS is prominently displayed on the search screens. Updates are performed prior to the start of business for the date indicated. Updates are scheduled daily on Mondays through Saturdays. Marks registered and published in the Official Gazette -- Trademarks preceding the date of the last update should be available in this search database. Consult our News for the latest complete filing date available on TESS. Trademark records with a Mark Drawing Code of 2, 3, 4, or 5 should include an image of the trademark.

The TESS start-up page allows the user to choose from four search forms. The New User Form Search provides for basic searching for Word Marks with commonly requested options. The Structured Form Search provides a simple search form {with drop down menus}for submitting a query {with 0 or 1 operators}, probably the best choice for novice users. The Free Form Search, nicknamed the Advanced Search, allows users to enter more complicated searches {using Search Fields and inserting the appropriate operators}. Finally, the Browse Dictionary choice allows users to scan through the search indices to see indexed terms around a specific search term and provides the counts of occurrences for those indexed terms. User can toggle between the three search forms during the search session. {Each search session has a timer that automatically terminates an idle session after 10 minutes in order to make room for other users}

NOTE: The USPTO will generate an image for all standard character marks filed through TEAS Plus {this image takes a few days after application to show up}. After filing, the "word mark" field displayed in the Office's various databases may reflect a slightly different mark than what you actually filed, because some standard characters must be converted to other characters, or slightly modified, to ensure proper communication across different databases. Specifically, (1) the € symbol is converted to ‘Euro’; (2) the ‰ symbol is converted to ‘0/00’; (3) Œ is converted to ‘OE’; (4) œ is converted to ‘oe’; and (5) some characters having a diacritical mark (e.g., an umlaut, accent, or cedilla) are converted to remove the diacritical mark; e.g., Ú is converted to U, ÿ is converted to y, and ç is converted to c. For a complete listing of characters requiring conversion, click here.

For applications filed via TEAS Plus (i.e., on or after July 18, 2005) that claim standard characters and include any of the characters identified in (1)-(4) above, the USPTO-generated image of the mark is the most reliable data source for information about the exact mark. For searching purposes, you should not rely on the “word mark” field if any of those specific characters are part of the mark (It is not a problem for the characters identified at (5), above). For specific searching instructions, click here.

Search OG Publication Date or Registration Date

The Search OG Publication Date or Registration Date search form was designed to assist new users in performing effective searches of marks recently published for opposition.

The View Search History link provides a listing of searches performed in your session. The drop down box provides an alternative view of the searches already performed.

By default, the plurals option is turned off. To retrieve both singular and plural forms of your search terms, select YES for the drop down box next to the Plurals label. With the Plurals option set to NO (the default), the search will be restricted to matches the search term; for example, a search of DOGS will retrieve occurrences of DOGS but not occurrences of DOG. With the plurals option set to YES, a search of DOG will return occurrences of DOG or DOGS.

Use the $ for truncation in any field. For Combined Word Mark searches, the * is a more efficient truncation operator for left and/or right truncation. For example, the search term *DOG* with the Combined Word Mark will retrieve marks with common variations of the word DOG in the word mark or translation statements. Use of the $ truncation operator sometimes results in a truncated hit list.  

 The New User Form Search

The New User (Basic) search form allows for searching of the most commonly searched fields: word marks, serial or registration numbers, and owners. A final ALL search field choice allows for searching all search fields.

The View Search History link provides a listing of searches performed in your session. The drop down box provides an alternative view of the searches already performed.

By default, both singular and plural forms of your search terms are return (via the Plural and Singular button). For example, a search of DOG will return occurrences of DOG or DOGS. Alternatively, selecting the Singular button will restrict the search to match the search term. For example, if the Singular button is selected, a search of DOGS will retrieve occurrences of DOGS but not occurrences of DOG.

By default, both all relevant hits (both live and dead) are returned for searches. Alternatively, you may select to retrieve only live records or only dead marks.

The Combined Word Mark {COMB}is the default search field and includes the word mark and translation fields. Specifically, the BI - Basic Index, TI - Translation Index, MP - Mark Punctuated (word mark), and TL - Translation Statement indexes are searched. (The MP and TL indexes are included as a redundancy to enable highlighting of the search term in the results, as the BI and TI fields are not displayed.) The Result Must Contain menu allows you to select how the search terms appear in the hits returned. The default choice, All Search Terms (AND), requires that each of your search terms appear in the records returned by the search. The alternate choice Any Search Terms (OR) requires that at least one of the search terms will appear in each record returned by the search. The final choice, Exact Phrase, requires that all the search terms occur in the results in the same order as occurring in the search.

Use the $ for truncation in any field. For Combined Word Mark searches, the * is a more efficient truncation operator for left and/or right truncation. For example, the search term *DOG* with the Combined Word Mark will retrieve marks with common variations of the word DOG in the word mark or translation statements. Use of the $ truncation operator sometimes results in a truncated hit list.

For serial number or registration number searches, enter the 8-digit serial number (e.g. 75123456) or 7-digit registration number (e.g., 1234567) and select Serial or Registration Number as the Field for the search. If multiple serial or registration numbers are searched, separate the numbers by spaces and change the Results Must Contain value to Any Search Terms (OR). (Alternatively, separate the number by the Boolean OR operator without adjusting the Result Must Contain value.)

Do NOT include the apostrophe for contractions. For example, search for the word DON'T by searching "DON T" or DON ADJ T. Including Boolean operators (e.g., AND, OR, or NOT) or proximity operators (e.g., ADJ, NEAR, SAME, or WITH) in your search will override the Result Must Contain setting for the search. To actually search for these Boolean or proximity operators, include quotes around the operator. For example, search MADE AND "WITH" to find records containing the two words MADE and WITH.  

 The Record List Display

There are two views of the hit list for your search, the standard Record List and a newer Image List.

The Record List Display, or the Hit List, provides a listing of the Serial Numbers, Registration Numbers, Word Marks, links to TSDR (the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system) to check the current status of the trademark, and Live/Dead flags for those trademarks retrieved by the search. There are options for jumping to different sections of the total hit list if your search retrieved more trademarks than currently listed. The search text is listed. The search query text can be modified and resubmitted directly from this Record List Display screen, but the free form search syntax must be used for the resubmitted query.

A second Image List provides an alternate view of the hits by displaying the drawings for the hits. Images are displayed in three columns. By selecting a drawing via a mouse click, you then toggle to the document display for that record. Returning to the Current List from the document display returns you to the last used view of the hit list, the text view or the images view.  

 Search Fields

This page contains definitions of search fields and tips on the use of fields in your TESS searches.

The TESS database contains many searchable fields. By narrowing your search to terms in a field that you specify, you can greatly decrease the likelihood of retrieving extraneous documents.

This page shows a list of all the available fields, defines each field, shows the abbreviated field name or code, and provides examples of how do field searching.


























Note: A special COMB index can be searched for the Combined Word Mark index introduced with the New User search screen. The Combined Word Mark includes the word mark and translation fields. Specifically, the BI - Basic Index, TI - Translation Index, MP - Mark Punctuated (word mark), and TL - Translation Statement indexes are searched. (The MP and TL indexes are included as a redundacy to enable highlighting of the search term in the results, as the BI and TI fields are not displayed.)  

Abandonment Date [AD]

This field contains the date the mark was abandoned. This field only applies to dead marks.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[AD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[AD]

199906??[AD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date in January 1999 or later.

`AD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`AD > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date of June 15, 2019.

20190615[AD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[AD]

201906??[AD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date in January 2019 or later.

`AD > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with an abandonment date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`AD > 20180000 < 20200000

 

Affidavits [AF]

This field contains notations on the types of affidavits filed on registrations. It refers to either or both Sec. 8 and Sec. 15 of the trademark law (Lanham Act, as amended), or to Section 12(c) for pre-1946 registrations.

Section 8: These affidavits are required for both the Supplemental and Principal Registers to show continuous use of the mark since registration. A Section 8 Affidavit must be filed between the fifth and sixth year anniversary of the registration date in order to maintain the registration.

Section 15: These affidavits apply only to the Principal Register. They must be filed within one year of any five-year period of continuous use to confer a status of incontestability in the registration.

Section 12(c): This affidavit may be filed for a registration that registered under trademark legislation that was in effect prior to the Lanham Act which was enacted in 1946. By filing this affidavit the registration takes on the benefits as well as the responsibilities (such as the requirement to file a Section 8 affidavit) of the 1946 Lanham Act.

TIP: Enter one of the following terms (using quotation marks) in the text entry box: "8"[AF] , "12C"[AF] or "15"[AF]

(This field applies only to Registered marks.)

 

Assignment Recorded [AR]

This field contains the words Assignment Recorded for those records that having an assignment recorded at the US Patent and Trademark Office. The search ASSIGNMENT[AR] will retrieve marks that have an assignment recorded.

 

Attorney of Record [AT]

This field contains the name of the attorney as specified in any power of attorney submitted with the trademark application. Note that the power of attorney expires when an application matures into a registration.

TIP: Since this information may be not updated in the database and is often changed prior to registration, you should contact the US Patent and Trademark Office or examine the application file to ensure retrieval of current information.

 

Basic Index [BI]

The Basic Index field contains the word mark and pseudo mark information indexed for optimal searching efficiency. This field (along with the [TI] field) uses a special * truncation operator for more efficient left and/or right truncation searches. Please note that the * truncation operator cannot be used for internal truncation. The $ or ? truncation symbols are used for internal truncation, but their use may result in truncation overflow.

The search *DOG*[BI] will retrieve marks that have the word segment DOG anywhere in the word mark or pseudo mark. Alternatively, the search *DOG*[BI,TI] will retrieve the word segment DOG occurring anywhere in the word mark, pseudo mark or translation.

This field is not displayed; consequently, search terms for searches of this field will not be highlighted.

The TESS search system has the capability to respond quickly to searches that employ either left or right truncation, but using left and right truncation together presents a problem for any text search system. If you search for WAX$ ($ is the standard TESS multi-character substitution character) the system can go quickly to the part of the index containing words beginning with WAX. If you search for $WAX the system has a reversed index of the words contained in the documents and is smart enough to reverse the search term and go to the reversed index. So it will look for words beginning with XAW in the reversed index. This means a rapid response time to either left OR right truncated search terms.

In the case of a search using left AND right truncation, for example, $WAX$, the system cannot go to a specific in entry in either index because anything could precede or follow WAX. In this case the system must start at the first entry in the index, see if the first entry contains the search term WAX and then proceed to the next entry in the index, and continue this process until it has examined every word in the index. Even with a very fast computer system, this is a time-consuming procedure that results in slow responses to this type of search.

The permuted index accelerates the response time to a combined left and right truncation search by loading the index with all possible left and right truncation variations or permutations of the words in the mark. For example, when the word WAX is permuted the result is the following list of permuted terms:

*W* W* *WA* WA* *WAX* WAX* *WAX *A* *AX* *AX *X* *X

To search for WAX with both left and right truncation, your search would be *WAX*[BI]. The asterisk substitutes for the usual multi-character wildcard character $. In this case the search system goes immediately to the part of the index file that contains terms starting with *WAX* resulting in a much faster response to the query. You can, of course, search for any of the permutations of the word as shown above and get a fast response. If you really want to search for any word mark or pseudo mark that contains the letter A you can search for *A*[BI].

The permuted indexing technique was used only on the Basic Index [BI], Mark Index [MI], Pseudo Mark Index [PI] and Translation Index [TI] fields because of the amount of disk space involved. If it is necessary to use left and right truncation to search the Goods and Services [GS] field, for instance, you will have to use the standard TESS syntax of $WAX$, and the query response time will be longer. Single truncation searches should execute quickly on all fields, but the asterisk is still the preferred method for a single truncation search on the Basic Index [BI], Mark Index [MI], Pseudo Mark Index [PI] and Translation Index [TI] fields.

When it is desirable to specify adjacency of searched terms in a search of the Basic Index (or the other permuted indeses), as in a phrase search, and it is desired to utilize truncation with one or more of the search terms, use of the * truncation operator is not appropriate.

Use of the * truncation operator in the Basic Index is appropriate when searching for single terms. It is also appropriate to use the * in the Basic Index when searching multiple terms within the same search statement and when the desired results do not require that the terms occur adjacent to each other in the mark. Use of the * truncation operator in the Basic Index is not appropriate if it is required that the multiple terms searched utilizing the * truncation operator appear in the mark adjacent to each other as is commonly desired when executing a phrase search.

Searches involving internal truncation in combination with left and right truncation on the Basic Index would employ the standard TESS truncation characters for internal character replacement. For example, *TE$OLOGY*[BI], would return TEKNOLOGY, TECNOLOGY, TELEOLOGY, etc. Another example is *TE?NO*[BI], which uses the single character replacement truncation character, the question mark (?) character. This search returns TEKNOBAG, TECNOBAG and INTERNODE, etc.

For all searches employing left and right truncation on the Basic Index [BI] field using the asterisks as the left and right character substitution operators is always preferable to the standard dollar sign operator.

 

Current Basis [CB]

The Current Basis field contains the current basis information. Possible entries for this field include:

    Entry                  Meaning

    1A                     Section §1(a) {use in commerce}.

    1B                     Section §1(b) {intent to use}.

    44D                    Section §44(d) {foreign application}.

    44E                    Section §44(e) {foreign registration}.

    66A                    Section §66(a) (Madrid Protocol).

    NO FILING BASIS        No basis claimed.

More than one basis may occur.

Example: the search 1A[CB] will retrieve all records currently based on use of the mark in commerce under section 1(a).

Note: Section 44(d) provides a basis for receipt of a priority filing date but is not a basis for publication or registration. Section 1(b) is a basis for publication but is not a basis for registration.

Please refer to the TMEP Ch. 800 for additional information on the different filing and registration bases.

 

Coordinated Class [CC]

Search the Coordinated Class field to retrieve marks from International Classes related to a specific International Class. The search "009"[CC] will retrieve marks in coordinated class 009, i.e., marks related to International Class 009. Usually, this search field is used in conjunction with other search fields.

This field is not displayed; consequently, search terms for searches of this field will not be highlighted.

The Coordinated Class Table (revised April 2006) was designed to automatically include related International Classes in the search results when the primary International Class is searched. For example, a search for the International Class 007 utilizing the Coordinated Class index to designate that the search is for the Coordinated Classes associated with International Class 007 will include results containing any of the following International Class designations: 007, 008, 011, 012, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200.

    Class  Related International Classes

001  005, 017, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

002  017, 019, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

003  005, 021, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

004  001, 035, 037, 042, A, B, 200

005  001, 003, 010, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

006  011, 017, 019, 020, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

007  008, 011, 012, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

008  007, 021, 035, 037, 040, 042, 045, A, B, 200

009  010, 016, 028, 035, 038, 041, 042, 044, A, B, 200

010  005, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

011  006, 007, 009, 019, 020, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

012  007, 035, 037, 042, A, B, 200

013  028, 035, 042, 045, A, B, 200

014  025, 026, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

015  028, 035, 041, 042, A, B, 200

016  009, 035, 041, 042, A, B, 200

017  001, 002, 006, 019, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

018  014, 025, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

019  002, 006, 011, 017, 035, 037, 040, 042, A, B, 200

020  006, 021, 028, 035, 042, A, B, 200

021  003, 008, 020, 035, 042, 044, A, B, 200

022  023, 024, 035, 042, A, B, 200

023  022, 024, 026, 035, 042, A, B, 200

024  023, 025, 026, 035, 042, A, B, 200

025  014, 018, 024, 035, 042, A, B, 200

026  023, 024, 035, 042, A, B, 200

027  019, 024, 035, 037, 042, A, B, 200

028  009, 016, 020, 025, 035, 041, 042, A, B, 200

029  005, 030, 031, 032, 033, 035, 042, 043, A, B, 200

030  001, 005, 029, 031, 032, 033, 035, 042, 043, A, B, 200

031  005, 029, 030, 032, 035, 042, 043, 044, A, B, 200

032  005, 029, 030, 031, 033, 035, 042, 043, A, B, 200

033  005, 029, 030, 031, 032, 035, 042, 043, A, B, 200

034  004, 035, 042, A, B, 200

035  036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

036  035, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

037  035, 036, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

038  035, 036, 037, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

039  035, 036, 037, 038, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

040  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

041  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 042, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200

042  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 043, 044, 045, A, B, 200       

043  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 044, 045, A, B, 200       

044  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 045, A, B, 200       

045  035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, A, B, 200       

A  B, 200

B  A, 200

200  041, 042, A, B

 

Cancellation Date [CD]

Search the Cancellation Date field to retrieve marks that were cancelled on a particular date.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date of June15, 1999.

19990615[CD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[CD]

199906??[CD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date in January 1999 or later.

`CD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`CD > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date of June 15, 2019.

20190615[CD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[CD]

201906??[CD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date in January 2019 or later.

`CD > "20190000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a cancellation date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`CD > 20180000 < 20200000

 

Change in Registration [CR]

This field indicates that a change in the registration of a mark has occurred.

The most common changes are:

a change in the ownership of the mark;     

a change in the name of the owner (for example, International Harvester changes its name to Navistar);     

a change in address; and/or,     

a change in the goods or services classes in which the mark is used.


TIP: This field contains the words "Change in Registration Has Occurred". Enter any of the words in the expression in this field to retrieve all records for which a change in registration has occurred. For example, the search CHANGE[CR] might be performed.

This field applies only to Registered marks.

 

Design Search Code [DC]

This field contains a six-digit code (do NOT include the periods) used to identify design elements that comprise a mark that contain a design (drawing). A mark may have more than one design code associated with it. Design search codes are defined in the Design Search Code Manual. (This manual is available on the USPTO Web site, at the Trademark Search Library in Arlington VA, and at all Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries.)

Trademarks which have data design search code field or that have a mark drawing code of 2, 3, 4 or 5 should have an image associated with them. Please note that due to the production processes involved, the availability of trademark images may lag several months behind the availability of text.

Example: Enter 150501[DC] to retrieve records for trademarks incorporating typewriters in the design.

Example: Enter 020119[DC] to retrieve records for trademarks incorporating athletic men in the design.

Example: Enter 080112[DC] to retrieve records for trademarks incorporating pizzas in the design.

 

Design Description [DD]

For any design code occurring in the record, the DD field include the corresponding entries from the Alphabetical Index of the Design Search Code Manual for that design code. While the DD index can be used for searching design codes, the intention was to display the design code descriptions from the Alphabetical Index with the full text display so that users will more readily see the significance of each design code entry. Additionally, the DD field includes the design code entries with the period format (e.g., 03.01.08 for dogs), so searches can be perform on design code using either the purely numeric format (e.g., 030108[DC]) or the traditional design code format with periods (e.g., 03.01.08[DD]), but note that the DD index must be specified for the traditional design code format with periods (or omit the [DD] index specification, as the tradition design code format with the periods is fairly unique to design code entries).

Example: Enter LION[DD] with the plurals option set to retrieve records for trademarks having design code entries associated with lion or lions in the alphabetical index of the Design Search Code Manual.

Example: Enter HUMANS[DD] with the plurals option set to retrieve records for trademarks having design code entries associated with humans in the alphabetical index of the Design Search Code Manual.

 

Description of Mark [DE]

This field contains words contained in the written description of the mark.

Example: For the three musical notes that make up the sound mark registered to NBC, this field states, "The mark comprises a sequence of chime-like musical notes ..."

Decimal Mark [DM]

Suppose you’re interested in punctuation symbols like ( ) [ ] | \ " that have special meanings for the search engine and are not available for searching. The DM – Decimal Mark – index provides a means of searching those characters or strings of characters occurring in the word mark entry. The catch: you’ll have to get the decimal value of any character you intend to search in the word mark entry. Those decimal values are readily available in the Standard Character Set listing on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov/teas/standardCharacterSet.html.

For example, the decimal value of the [ character is 91 and the decimal value of the ] character is 93. The search "91"[DM] NEAR2 "93"[DM]

will retrieve word marks like [M] or [A], where the character [ and the character ] must occur in the word mark in any order but with at most a single character between them.

The Decimal Mark index is meant to be a last resort option for word mark searching when traditional search methods fail because the desired search term includes characters like [ or " that are not indexed for traditional searches.

 

Disclaimer [DS]

This field contains words in a statement waiving exclusive rights to specific words or elements of a mark. Without this disclaimer, the USPTO would not register the mark.

Example: The trademark for Florida Gold states "no claim is made to the exclusive use of 'Florida' apart from the mark as shown."

 

Filing Date [FD]

This field contains the date when a complete application was received by the US Patent and Trademark Office, following receipt of all filing material requirements. Contingent upon registration, it constitutes date of constructive use (legal equivalent of actual use).

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[FD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a filing date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[FD]

199906??[FD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date in January 1999 or later.

`FD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`FD > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date of June 15, 2019.

20190615[FD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a filing date any time in June, 1999.

201906$[FD]

201906??[FD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date in January 2019 or later.

`FD > "20190000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a filing date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`FD > 20180000 < 20200000

Full Mark [FM]

For this index, each Word Mark is a single index entry with any blank space converted to a hyphen. A search for the mark GOOD AS GOLD might be submitted as GOOD-AS-GOLD[FM]. This field provides for exact match searches. Truncation operators such as $ or ? are valid used in this search field,but this index has not been optimized for truncation searches and their use is not recommended. The asterisk (*) can be used for right truncation to help circumvent truncation overflow errors for searching this field. For example, the search GOOD-AS*[FM] could be used to search for marks beginning GOOD AS.

 

Goods and Services [GS]

This field contains a written description which clearly identifies the nature of the goods and/or services as set forth in the application or registration. See Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual for guidance and suggestions of acceptable descriptions of goods and services. (This manual is available at the Trademark Search Library in Arlington, VA and at all Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries.)

 

International Class [IC]

This field identifies the class(es) assigned to a mark under the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Agreement) based upon the goods or services on which the mark is used. The International Classification has been the primary classification for marks in the United States since September 1, 1973.

TIP: Enter a numeric international class in quotes with leading zeros, if necessary.

Example: Enter "032"[IC] to retrieve documents classified in International Class 032.

Note: This International Class field is included for searching convenience, but the displayed International Class information is actually part of the Goods and Services [GS] text to allow for the searching of specific GS text terms occurring in a specific International Class. For example, the search ((IC WITH "032") SAME FRUIT)[GS] will retrieve only marks containing the word FRUIT occurring for International Class 032 in the Goods and Services statement.

A list of International Trademark Class Numbers and Short Titles follows. Note that these short titles are not an official part of the International Classification. They are provided here as a means by which the general content of numbered International Classes can be quickly identified. See Section 6.1 of the Trademark Rules of Practice for the full names of the International Classes and Chapter 1400 of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure for additional trademark classification information.

 International Trademark Class Numbers and Short Titles

GOODS

001  Chemicals 002  Paints 003  Cosmetics and Cleaning Preparations 004  Lubricants and Fuels 005  Pharmaceuticals 006  Metal Goods 007  Machinery 008  Hand Tools 009  Electrical and Scientific Apparatus 010  Medical Apparatus 011  Environmental Control Apparatus 012  Vehicles 013  Firearms 014  Jewelry 015  Musical Instruments 016  Paper Goods and Printed Matter 017  Rubber Goods 018  Leather Goods 019  Non-metallic Building Materials 020  Furniture and Articles Not Otherwise Classified 021  Housewares and Glass 022  Cordage and Fibers 023  Yarns and Threads 024  Fabrics 025  Clothing 026  Fancy Goods 027  Floor Coverings 028  Toys and Sporting Goods 029  Meats and Processed Foods 030  Staple Foods 031  Natural Agricultural Products 032  Light Beverages 033  Wines and Spirits 034  Smokers' Articles

 SERVICES

035  Advertising and Business 036  Insurance and Financial 037  Construction and Repair 038  Communication 039  Transportation and Storage 040  Material Treatment 041  Education and Entertainment 042  Computer, Scientific and Legal 043  Hotels and Restaurants 044  Medical, Beauty and Agricultural 045  Personal

 Other 200 Collective Membership Mark A Goods Certification Mark B Services Certification Mark


International Registration [IR]

This field includes the International Registration number for applications filed under §66(a).

Filed ITU [IU]

This search field no longer exists. With the implementation of the Madrid Protocol, filing basis information was reorganized into the Current Basis [CB] and Original Filing Basis [OB] fields.

 

Live/Dead [LD]

The field contains either LIVE or DEAD.

The search LIVE[LD] can be used to obtain all live records.

Use this search field in conjunction with other searches to retrieve only live or dead records. For example, the search *DOG*[BI,TI] AND LIVE[LD] will retrieve all live marks containing the word segment DOG in the word mark, pseudo mark, or translation fields, including instances of the word DOG embedded within a word such as HOTDOGS, DOGGIE, DOGHOUSE, BULLDOG, GUARDDOG, DOGMAIL or WATCHDOG.

What does a status of "dead" or "abandoned" mean? {If an application shows a status of dead or abandoned, it means THAT specific application is no longer under prosecution within the USPTO, and would not be used as a bar against your filing. However, it does not necessarily mean that there are not OTHER marks which the examining attorney would cite. Also, there is always the possibility that an abandoned application COULD be revived (e.g., if the USPTO declared the application abandoned for failure of the applicant to respond to an Office action, but the applicant establishes that a response was sent, and the USPTO simply failed to match it with the file in a timely manner, then the case will be revived). Also, regardless of the status of an application within the office, the owner may still claim common law rights.}

 

Mark Drawing Code [MD]

This field provides a code to indicate the type of mark drawing.

The following table provides the approximate occurrences of each of the 7 mark drawing codes with their text descriptions.

Occurrences  Code  Description       {numbers below are from searches on 09102019}

        {42204}     0      UNKNOWN

   {2502422}     1      TYPED DRAWING

      {291646}     2      DESIGN ONLY

      {1691693}     3      DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS

      {3868420}     4      STANDARD CHARACTER MARK

      {532708}     5      WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED

             {757}     6      FOR SITUATIONS FOR WHICH NO DRAWING IS POSSIBLE, SUCH AS SOUND

To search in this field, enter the desired mark drawing code number in quotes with the [MD] search field tag.

Example: Enter "2"[MD] for design only marks. Enter "6"[MD] for sensory marks (such as sound and fragrance marks).

 

Mark Index [MI]

 Similar to the Basic Index, the Mark Index field contains word mark, in both punctuated and non-punctuated form, but not the pseudo mark information. MI is indexed for optimal searching efficiency. This field uses a special * truncation operator for very fast left or right truncation searches. Please note that the * truncation operator cannot be used for internal truncation. The $ or ? characters are used for internal truncation but their added use may result in a truncation overflow condition. The MI index was added with the Fall 2005 update to allow for * truncation searches of word mark entries independent of the pseudo mark entries that are included in the BI index.

The search *DOG*[MI] will retrieve marks that have the word segment DOG anywhere in the word mark. Alternatively, the search *DOG*[BI] will retrieve the word segment DOG occurring anywhere in the word mark or pseudo mark.

This field is not displayed; consequently, search terms for searches of this field will not be highlighted.

 

Mark Non-Punctuated [MN]

 This index contains the text for the Word Mark. Punctuation characters have been removed and replaced by a space. This means that a word mark like ARE-TWO is indexed as two separate indexed terms ARE and TWO. G*R*I*T is indexed as the four separate letters G, R, I and T.

This field is not displayed; consequently, search terms for searches of this field will not be highlighted.

[The USPTO recommends] using the Basic Index field for word mark searches.

 

Mark Punctuated [MP]

 This field contains the Word Mark, including any punctuation characters. This is the word mark field displayed in the text output. Search terms for searches of this field will be highlighted in the display of the word mark.

TIP: This field cannot be used to search marks using only a design, fragrance, sound, etc. See field contents for Mark Drawing Code for information on searching these types of marks.

[The USPTO recommends] using the Basic Index field for word mark searches.

 

Original Filing Basis [OB]

The Original Filing Basis field contains the original basis information as of the filing of the application. Possible entries for this field include:

     Entry                  Meaning

    1A                     Filed under Section §1(a) {use in commerce}.

    1B                     Filed under Section §1(b) {intent to use}.

    44D                    Filed under Section §44(d) {foreign application}.

    44E                    Filed under Section §44(e) {foreign registration}.

    66A                    Filed under Section §66(a) (Madrid Protocol).

    NO FILING BASIS        No filing basis claimed.

More than one basis may occur.

Example: the search 1A[OB] will retrieve all records originally filed under section 1(a).

Please refer to the TMEP Ch. 800 for additional information on the different filing bases.

 

Other Data[OD]

This field contains information regarding any concurrent use of the mark, court ordered restriction, or other information which exists for the particular mark.

 

Owner Name [ON]

This field contains the name of the individual, corporation, partnership, association, etc., having controlling interest in the use of the mark. For example, the search WAL-MART[ON] will retrieve marks owned by Wal-Mart (although there may be variations in the spelling of that name that may not be retrieved by that specific search).

This field is included for improving owner searches by not retrieving irrelevant hits for occurrences of the search terms in the owner address; however, this field is not displayed, so search terms for this field will not be highlighted.

 

Owner Name and Address [OW]

Address This field contains the name and address of the owner or applicant for the mark including street, city, state or country and zip code. This field also indicates if an owner is an individual, corporation, partnership, association, etc., and state or country of citizenship or incorporation. This field is displayed and search terms for searches of this field will be highlighted.

 

Priority Date [PD]

This field relates to Section 44(d) applications. It contains the date of filing in a foreign country which becomes the "priority" filing date in the United States.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[PD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a priority date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[PD]

199906??[PD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date in January 1999 or later.

`PD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`PD > 19800000 < 19900000

NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date of June 15, 2019.

     20190615[PD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a priority date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[PD]

201906??[PD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date in January 2019 or later.

`PD > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with a priority date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`PD > 20180000 < 20200000

 

Physical Filing Date [PF] {This field is no longer used and is only available for older records}

 

Pseudo Mark Index [PI]

Similar to the Basic Index, the PI index contains pseudo mark but not the word mark information. PI is indexed for optimal searching efficiency. This field uses a special * truncation operator for very fast left or right truncation searches. Please note that the * truncation operator cannot be used for internal truncation. The $ or ? characters are used for internal truncation but their added use may result in a truncation overflow condition. The PI index was added with the Fall 2005 update to allow for * truncation searches of pseudo mark entries independent of the word mark entries that are included in the BI index. For some marks, the USPTO has added a pseudo mark to the search data to assist TESS users in identifying relevant marks related to their search term. Pseudo mark entries are not displayed or printed in the search results and are not part of the official application or registration. Pseudo marks provide an additional search tool for locating documents whose word mark may contain an alternative or intentionally corrupted spelling for a normal English word. The pseudo mark field often contains spellings that are very similar or phonetically equivalent to the word mark.

Examples:

    A document with the word mark 4U might contain a pseudo mark of FOR YOU.     Searching the pseudo index field for *QUICK*[PI] should retrieve marks whose word mark field contains words like KWIK, KWIX, QUIK, etc.

 

Pseudo Mark [PM]

For some marks, the USPTO has added a pseudo mark to the search data to assist TESS users in identifying relevant marks related to their search term. Pseudo mark entries are not displayed or printed in the search results and are not part of the official application or registration. Pseudo marks provide an additional search tool for locating documents whose word mark may contain an alternative or intentionally corrupted spelling for a normal English word. The pseudo mark field often contains spellings that are very similar or phonetically equivalent to the word mark.

Examples:

    A document with the word mark 4U might contain a pseudo mark of FOR YOU.     Searching the pseudo mark field for QUICK should retrieve marks whose word mark field contains words like KWIK, KWIX, QUIK, etc.

[The USPTO recommends] using the Basic Index field for word mark/pseudo mark searches.

 

Published for Opposition [PO]

This field contains the date that the application was published for opposition in the Trademark Official Gazette.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[PO]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[PO]

199906??[PO]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date in January 1999 or later.

`PO > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`PO > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date of June 15, 2019.

     20190615[PO]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[PO]

201906??[PO]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date in January 2019 or later.

`PO > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with a published for opposition date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`PO > 20180000 < 20200000


Prior Registrations [PR]

This field contains the registration numbers of other US registrations owned by the applicant or registrant.

TIP: Enter as a seven-digit number in quotes with leading zeros if necessary, as in "1800144"[PR] or "0040006"[PR].

 

Registration Date [RD]

This field contains the date on which a mark was registered by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

This field applies only to registered marks; pending marks will have a registration date of 0.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a registration date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[RD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a registration date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[RD]

199906??[RD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a registration date in January 1999 or later.

`RD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a registration date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`RD > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks all marks with a registration date of June 15, 2019.

     20190615[RD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks all marks with a registration date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[RD]

201906??[RD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with aall marks with a registration date in January 2019 or later.

`RD > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with all marks with a registration date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`RD > 20180000 < 20200000

Renewals (RE)

This field contains the date on which a renewal for a trademark was registered by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks may be renewed indefinitely for ten-year periods provided certain conditions are met.

Following are examples of entries for this field.

1ST RENEWAL   19991028

2ND RENEWAL   19970102

3RD RENEWAL   19990920

4TH RENEWAL   19991013

All records with a renewal entry might be retrieved by the search RENEWAL[RE]. Renewals for a particular date can be retrieved by the search of that date. For example, the search 199906??[RE] will retrieve all records with a renewal date in June, 1999. Searches of this field can be performed on any of the keyword, such as "1ST"[RE] to retrieve all records with a 1st renewal entry.

This field applies only to Registered marks.

 

Register [RG]

This field identifies the mark as being either on

The Principal Register is where most marks are registered. The Supplemental Register exists to allow registration of marks that are not distinctive but are "capable" of becoming distinctive. Principal Register marks which have acquired distinctiveness through long use are registered based on a claim under Section 2(f) of the Lanham Act. Usually, at least five years of use is sufficient to support a Section 2(f) claim. Registration on the Supplemental Register does not bar later registration on the Principal Register once the mark has become capable of distinguishing the owner's goods or services from those of others.

There are 4 unique entries in this field, namely (a) PRINCIPAL, (b) PRINCIPAL-2(F)-IN PART, (c) PRINCIPAL-2(F) and (d) SUPPLEMENTAL.

The search PRINCIPAL[RG] retrieves only occurrences of (a) PRINCIPAL.

The search PRINCIPAL-2[RG] AND PART[RG] retrieves only occurrences of (b) PRINCIPAL-2(F)-IN PART.

The search PRINCIPAL-2[RG] NOT PART[RG] retrieves only occurrences of (c) PRINCIPAL-2(F).

The search SUPPLEMENTAL[RG] retrieves only occurrences of (d) SUPPLEMENTAL.

This field applies only to Registered marks.

 

Registration Number [RN]

This field contains the unique number assigned to applications that have received approval for registration. To search this field, use the seven-digit registration number. If the registration number does not contain seven digits, pad with leading zeros.

Examples: "1371604"[RN] or "0916522"[RN]

TIP: The registration number is 7 digits. Do not include any commas in the registration number.

The search `RN > "0" will retrieve all registered marks.

The search `RN = "0" will retrieve all pending marks. Note that marks with serial numbers beginning with the series code 89 are marks protected by treaties or international agreements.

 

Section 44 Indicator [SF]

This search field no longer exists. With the implementation of the Madrid Protocol, filing basis information was reorganized into the Current Basis [CB] and Original Filing Basis [OB] fields.

 

Single Design Code [SD]

The [SD] field has been deactivated. Single Design Search Code searches can be performed using the [TD] search field. See the [TD] Total Designs search field to search for marks based on the number of design codes occurring in the record.

Serial - Other Formats [SO]

Serial numbers are sometimes displayed in the XX-XXXXXX or XX/XXXXXX formats. To help simplify serial number searching, those alternative formats for the serial number were loaded into this SO field. Searches of serial numbers in the hyphenated or slashed formats may be performed using the [SO] index. For example, "71-060158"[SO] will retrieve the mark with serial number 71060158, as will "71/060158"[SO].

Since the hyphenated and slashed format are fairly unique to serial numbers, you might choose for convenience to omit the [SO] index tag, searching that rather unique serial number format across all X-Search indexes.

 

Serial Number [SN]

This field contains the unique identification number assigned by the US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark applications which have received a filing date. Search for a specific record by entering its full 8-digit serial number, e.g., 70011210[SN] to retrieve the record for serial number 70011210.

The serial number consists of a 2-digit series code and 6 digit application number. If the application number does not contain 6 digits, leading zeros must be entered. Series Code Designations 70  indicates filing dates ranging from 1881 through 3-31-1905 71  indicates filing dates ranging from 4-01-1905 through 12-31-1955 72  indicates filing dates ranging from 1-01-1956 through 8-31-1973 73  indicates filing dates ranging from 9-01-1973 through 11-15-1989 74  indicates filing dates ranging from 1989-11-16 through 1995-09-30 75  indicates filing dates ranging from 1995-10-01 through approximately 2000-03-20 76  indicates paper filings from approximately 2000-03-20 to present 77  indicates Internet filings from approximately 2006-09-14 to present 78  indicates Internet filings from approximately 2000-03-20 through 2006-09-13 79  indicates §66(a) filings from approximately 2003-11-02 to present 80-81  indicates a pseudo serial number 89  indicates a Non-Registration Document

 Standard Characters Claimed [ST]

This field has the entry STANDARD CHARACTERS CLAIMED for standard character drawings.

The search STANDARD[ST] will retrieve all records with the standard characters claim.

 

Date Amended to Current Register[SR]

This field contains the date that the application was amended for placement on the Supplemental Register.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to current register date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[SR]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with an amendment to current register date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[SR]

199906??[SR]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to current register date in January 1999 or later.

`SR > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to current register date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`SR > 19800000 < 19900000


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to the current register date of June 15, 2019.

     20190615[SR]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with an amendment to the current register any time in June, 2019.

201906$[SR]

201906??[SR]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to the current register in January 2019 or later.

`SR > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with an amendment to the current register from January 2019 through December 2019.

`SR > 20180000 < 20200000

Trademark Search Facility Classification Code Index [TC]

(limited to 8-28-07 through 1-31-11)

    WARNING: Searching by TC code will only retrieve registrations coded from August 28, 2007 through January 31, 2011. The USPTO continues to code all pending applications that contain a design element using a numerical design code system modeled after the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks. Searches performed using these codes in the Design Search Code [DC] field retrieves pending applications and active registrations for marks that include the design element(s) searched.

This field has the classification codes used at the Trademark Search Facility for organizing trademarks for searching. The * (asterisk) wildcard character may be used for right truncation with this search field to avoid truncation overflows on TESS. The Table of TC Entries lists the possible codes for the TC index.

     LET*[TC]

This example search uses the TC index to retrieve all marks with TC entries like LETTER.

 

Total Designs [TD]

The TD index in a numeric index of the number of design codes occurring in the record. Search "0"[TD] for marks with no design codes, "1"[TD] for marks with a single design code entry (a theme previous performed via the SD index, such as the 030108[SD] search to retrieve marks with the 030108 design code only), "2"[TD] for marks with two design code entries, etc. Alternatively, perform a numeric range search like the following.

     030108[dc] AND `TD < 4

This example search uses the DC and TD index to retrieve all marks with the simple dog design code 03.01.08 and no more than 2 other design code entries.

 

Distinctiveness Limitation Statement [TF]

This field contains statements such as AS TO "SANTA FE". An example search is "SANTA FE"[TF].


Translation Index [TI]

This field contains English equivalents to foreign words or characters used in a trademark.

This field, along with the [BI] field, uses a special * truncation operator for more efficient left and/or right truncation searches. Please note that the * truncation operator cannot be used for internal truncation. The $ or ? truncation symbols are used for internal truncation, but their use may result in truncation overflow. The search *DOG*[BI,TI] will retrieve marks that have the word segment DOG anywhere in the word mark, pseudo mark, or translation.

For example, the search wolf[TI] will retrieve documents containing the words "lupo", "ookami", "lobo", and other language equivalents to the word wolf, provided an appropriate entry has been included in the translation statement.


 Translation (TL)

 This field contains English equivalents to foreign words or characters used in a trademark.

For example, the search wolf[TL] will retrieve documents containing the words "lupo", "ookami", "lobo", and other language equivalents to the word wolf, provided an appropriate entry has been included in the translation statement.

 

Type of Mark (TM)

 This field indicates the type of mark: trademark, service mark, collective mark, collective membership mark, or certification mark.

    Trademark: Any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof, used or intended to be used by a person to identify and distinguish his goods from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of those goods.     

Service Mark: Any word, name, symbol or device or any combination thereof, used or intended to be used by a person to identify and distinguish his services from the services of others, to indicate the source of the services (i.e., banking activities).     

Collective Mark: Any trademark or service mark used or intended to be used by the members of an association, cooperative, or other collective group to identify and distinguish their goods or services. For example, the FTD mark is used by member florists of the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association.     

Collective Membership Mark: A mark adopted or intended to be adopted for the purpose of indicating membership in an organized group. For example, the letters AAA inside an oval indicates membership with the American Automobile Association.     

Certification Mark: A mark which is used or intended to be used to certify that goods or services of others meet certain standards established by the owner. The most common types of certification marks are those which: (1) originate from a specific geographic region, such as Roquefort cheese; (2) meet standards in relation to the quality, materials, or mode of manufacture, such as Underwriters Laboratory approval; or (3) were performed by an individual who has met certain standards or belongs to a certain organization or union, such as a union label in clothing


 Update/Load Date [UD]

 This field contains the date of the last update for the serial number record. This field is not displayed.

Dates are stored in the format YYYYMMDD for the four-digit year YYYY, the two digit month MM and the two digit day DD. The $ (unlimited) and ? (single character) truncation operators are appropriate for use in date searches.

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date of June 15, 1999.

19990615[UD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a update/load date any time in June, 1999.

199906$[UD]

199906??[UD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date in January 1999 or later.

`UD > "19990000" The following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date from January 1980 through December 1989.

`UD > 19800000 < 19900000

Please refer to TSDR to obtain the most up-to-date status for any record retrieved by TESS.


NEW EXAMPLES

For example, the following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date of June 15, 2019.

20190615[UD]

Either of the following searches will retrieve all marks with a update/load date any time in June, 2019.

201906$[UD]

201906??[UD]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches on date fields. The following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date in January 2019 or later.

`UD > "20190000"

The following search will retrieve all marks with a update/load date from January 2019 through December 2019.

`UD > 20180000 < 20200000

Please refer to TSDR to obtain the most up-to-date status for any record retrieved by TESS.


 

US Class [US]

This field contains the US class information. You are advised to include any numeric class in quotes. For example , the search "022"[US] might be performed to search for marks in US class 022 [Games, Toys, and Sporting Goods]. US Classes and Short Titles

001  Raw or Partly Prepared Materials

002  Receptacles

003  Baggage Animal Equipments, Portfolios and Pocketbooks

004  Abrasives and Polishing Materials

005  Adhesives

006  Chemicals and Chemical Compositions

007  Cordage

008  Smokers' Articles, Not Including Tobacco Products

009  Explosives, Firearms, Equipments and Projectiles

010  Fertilizers

011  Inks and Inking Materials

012  Construction Materials

013  Hardware, Plumbing and Steamfitting Supplies

014  Metals, Metal Castings and Forgings

015  Oils and Greases

016  Protective and Decorative Coatings

017  Tobacco Products

018  Medicines and Pharmaceutical Preparations

019  Vehicles

020  Linoleum and Oiled Cloth

021  Electrical Apparatus, Machines and Supplies

022  Games, Toys and Sporting Good

023  Cutlery, Machinery, Tools and Parts Thereof

024  Laundry Appliances and Machines

025  Locks and Safes

026  Measuring and Scientific Appliances

027  Horological Instruments

028  Jewelry and Precious-metal Ware

029  Brooms, Brushes and Dusters

030  Crockery, Earthenware and Porcelain

031  Filters and Refrigerators

032  Furniture and Upholstery

033  Glassware

034  Heating, Lighting and Ventilating Apparatus

035  Belting, Hose, Machinery Packing and Non-Metallic Tires

036  Musical Instruments and Supplies

037  Paper and Stationery

038  Prints and Publications

039  Clothing

040  Fancy Goods, Furnishings and Notions

041  Canes, Parasols and Umbrellas

042  Knitted, Netted and Textile Fabrics and Substitutes

043  Thread and Yarn

044  Dental, Medical and Surgical Appliances

045  Soft Drinks and Carbonated Waters

046  Foods and Ingredients of Foods

047  Wines

048  Malt Beverages and Liquors

049  Distilled Alcoholic Liquors

050  Merchandise Not Otherwise Classified

051  Cosmetics and Toilet Preparations

052  Detergents and Soaps

100  Miscellaneous

101  Advertising and Business

102  Insurance and Financial

103  Construction and Repair

104  Communication

105  Transportation and Storage

106  Material Treatment

107  Education and Entertainment

200  COLLECTIVE MEMBERSHIP

A    GOODS CERTIFICATION MARK

B    SERVICES CERTIFICATION MARK

 

Plurals

If the plurals option is selected, TESS will automatically search for the singular, plural and possessive regardless of whether you enter the singular or the plural. A search for DOG and a search for DOGS will return the same hits when you have the plural box checked. The use of any form of truncation or pattern matching in combination with the plurals feature is not recommended.

A search for HOG[BI] with the plurals function turned on will return results containing both the singular, plural and possessive forms of HOG that occur in the Basic Index. Results will include: HOG, HOGS and HOG'S found in the Basic Index.

Caution! The plurals option does not work with pattern matching. For example, the search {A}MIND[BI,TI] with the plurals option selected might be expected to retrieve the mark CMINDS, but CMINDS is not retrieved by that search. This is a limitation of the search engine.

Caution! Right truncation should not be used with the plurals option. For example, the search MOUSE*[BI,TI] with the plurals option selected might be expected to retrieve marks with MICE in the word mark, pseudo mark or translation. Unfortunately, the search engine literally checks for the word ending MOUSE* in the plurals table and fails to recognize MICE as the plural of MOUSE, as there is not an entry in the plurals table for MOUSE*.

Generally, left truncation can be used with the plurals option. For example, the search *MOUSE[BI,TI] with the plurals option selected does retrieve marks with MICE in the word mark, pseudo mark or translation. Plurals Table

For most searches, selecting the plurals option will provide the desired singular and plural forms for your search. Note that the plurals option work both ways, converting singular search terms to plurals and plural search terms to the singular form for the actual search. If you have doubts about the substitutions being performed for your search, turn the plurals option off and specify the explicit search terms you wish to retrieve.

The TESS search engine employs an exception table to create the singular and plural forms of search words. If the word is not in exception table, an S is appended to the word to form its plural. For example, the plural form of BANANA is BANANAS.

The exception table provides the substitutions that are used to form the plural form or multiple plural forms for select words. The bulk of the entries include a word ending and the list of one or more alternative endings that are substituted to form the plural forms. For example, the plural forms of words ending in Y are provided by the following entry.

Y IES YS

The above entry means that for any word ending in Y, two plural forms are created by substituting IES and YS for Y. The plural forms for LADY are LADYS and LADIES.

When forming the plural forms for a word, the exception table is searched in order. Once a word match is found, then the substitutions specified in that word are performed and searching stops. For example, although BOY ends in Y, the entry OY precedes Y in the table, so the plural form of BOY is BOYS. The substitution IES is not performed for the Y in boy, so BOIES is not a plural form BOY.

An alternative format used in the exception table is for entries beginning with the equal sign (=), which indicates an exact match of the full word must occur for the substitution to be performed. An example of such an entry follows.

=OCTOPUS =OCTOPUSES =OCTOPI

The plural forms of OCTOPUS are OCTOPUSES and OCTOPI, but OCTOPUS is not considered to be a word ending for such substitutions. There are very few uses of this format in the exception table, so there is little likelihood of encountering these exceptions during your searches. If you have doubts about the substitutions being performed for your search, turn the plurals option off and specify the explicit search terms you wish to retrieve.

If an entry in exception table begins with a plus sign (+) then TESS substitutes for the word following the plus sign with all the alternative entries included on the line.

Each line represents the various forms of a given word ending. If the end of an input term matches any of the strings given on a line, then that is expanded to the beginning part of the input term (less the matched ending), plus each of the endings given on that exception line.

ORDER COUNTS! These exceptions will be tested for in the order in which they are defined in this table. Once a matching ending is found, the table lookup stops.

  AEROPLANE       AIRPLANE        AEROPLANES      AIRPLANES         CATALOG         CATALOGUE       CATALOGS        CATALOGUES  CENTER          CENTRE          CENTERS         CENTRES  CHECK           CHEQUE          CHECKS          CHEQUES  COLOUR          COLOR           COLOURS         COLORS  COMPUTERIZED    COMPUTERISED  DISC            DISK            DISCS           DISKS  ENCYCLOPEDIA    ENCYCLOPAEDIA   ENCYCLOPEDIAS   ENCYCLOPAEDIAS  FERTILISER      FERTILIZER      FERTILISERS     FERTILIZERS  INQUIRY         ENQUIRY         INQUIRIES       ENQUIRIES  JEWELRY         JEWELLERY       JEWELRIES       JEWELLERIES  KETCHUP         CATSUP          KETCHUPS        CATSUPS  KNIT            KNITTED  LICENSE         LICENCE         LICENSES        LICENCES  MOLD            MOULD           MOLDS           MOULDS  MOLDING         MOULDING        MOLDINGS        MOULDINGS  MOUSTACHE       MUSTACHE        MOUSTACHES      MUSTACHES  ONLINE          ON-LINE         ONLINES         ON-LINES  ORGANISATION    ORGANIZATION    ORGANISATIONS   ORGANIZATIONS  PAJAMAS         PYJAMAS         PAJAMA          PYJAMA  PROGRAM         PROGRAMME       PROGRAMS        PROGRAMMES  PROPELLANT      PROPELLENT      PROPELLANTS     PROPELLENTS  THEATRE         THEATER         THEATRES        THEATERS  TYRE            TIRE            TYRES           TIRES  WOOLEN          WOOLLEN         WOOLENS         WOOLLENS  STATIONARY      STATIONERY      STATIONARIES    STATIONERIES         AMOEBA  AMOEBAE  AMOEBAS  AMEBA  AMEBAE  AMEBAS  CHILD  CHILDS  CHILDREN CHILDRENS  INDEX  INDEXES  INDICES  HUMAN  HUMANS  MAN  MEN  MENS  MANS  AY  AYS  MONEY  MONEYS  MONIES  EY  EYS  IY  IYS  INDIA  INDIAS  INDIUM  INDIUMS  IUM  IUMS  IA  IAS  OY  OYS  UY  UYS  Y  IES  YS  SH  SHES  ACHE  ACHES  CH  CHES  CHS  J  JES  JS  GENUS  GENERA  GENUSES  ANALYSIS +ANALYSES  +ANALYSE ANALYSES +ANALYSIS  =ROSE  =ROSES  ROSIS  ROSES  =NOSE  =NOSES  NOSIS  NOSES  BASIS  BASE  BASES  CRISIS  CRISES  GENESIS  GENESES  OASIS  OASES  OSMOSIS  OSMOSES  ABUSE  ABUSES  BUS  BUSES  BUSSES  SS  SSES  GOOSE  GOOSES  GEESE  LOUSE  LOUSES  LICE  MOUSE  MOUSES  MICE  MICES  ALUMNA  ALUMNAE  ALUMNAS  ALUMNAES  FORMULA  FORMULAE FORMULAS  NUCLEUS  NUCLEI  NUCLEUSES  ALUMNUS  ALUMNI  ALUMNIS  FUNGUS  FUNGI  FUNGUSES  THESAURUS THESAURI THESAURUSES  CACTUS  CACTI  CACTUSES  RADIUS  RADII  RADIUSES  =OCTOPUS =OCTOPUSES =OCTOPI  THESIS  THESES  SE  SES  YNX  YNGES  YNXES  ICE  IX  ICES  IXES  IXS  =OX  =OXEN  =OXES  X  XES  XS  Z  +ZES  ZS  AO  AOS  EO  EOS  IO  IOS  OO  OOS  UO  UOS  =CANOE  =CANOES  =DOE  +DOES  =DO  +DOES  =DOES  +DOE  +DO  =HOE  =HOES  =FLOE  =FLOES  =FOE  =FOES  =OBOE  =OBOES  =ROE  =ROES  =SHOE  =SHOES  =TOE  =TOES  =TO  +TO  O  OES  OS  OE  FOOT  FEET  TOOTH  TEETH  PERSON  PERSONS  PEOPLE  PEOPLES  DATUM  DATA  STAFF  STAFFS  STAVES  =DWARF  =DWARFS  =DWARVES  FF  FFS  BELIEF  BELIEFS  BELIEVES  CALF  CALFS  CALVES  ELF  ELFS  ELVES  GRIEF  GRIEFS  GRIEVES  HALF  HALFS  HALVES  HOOF  HOOFS  HOOVES  KERCHIEF KERCHIEFS KERCHIEVES  KNIFE  KNIFES  KNIVES  LEAF  LEAFS  LEAVES  LIFE  LIFES  LIVE  LIVES  LOAF  LOAVES  ROOF  ROOFS  ROOVES  SCARF  SCARFS  SCARVES  SELF  SELFS  SELVES  SHEAF  SHEAFS  SHEAVES  SHELF  SHELFS  SHELVES  THIEF  THIEFS  THIEVES  WHARF  WHARFS  WHARVES  WIFE  WIFES  WIVES  WOLF  WOLFS  WOLVES

 

 Logical Operators

The logical operators for TESS are described in the following table.

Operator  Meaning

AND  Boolean AND - Records retrieved will contain the each of the search terms specified. The order of occurrence of the search terms in the record is not restricted.

OR  Boolean OR - Records retrieved will contain at least one of the search terms specified.

NOT  Boolean NOT - Records retrieved will not include the search term following the NOT operator. NOT may be used with the SAME or WITH operators to retrieve documents that contain the first term but do not contain the second term in the same paragraph or sentence.

XOR  Exclusive OR - For two search terms, records will include either the first term or the second term, but not both.

SAME  The search terms occur in the same paragraph. This operator may be useful for searches of Goods and Services (i.e., searching for two or more terms within the same Goods and Services entry).

WITH  The search terms occur in the same sentence.

ADJ#  The search terms occur in the adjacent to each other in the order specified in the search. A numeric qualifier (1-99) can be appended to ADJ to allow additional words to be between the two search terms.

NEAR#  The search terms occur in the same sentence within the specified number of words of each other. For example, the search DOG NEAR2 CAT will retrieve records for which the words DOG and CAT appear in the same sentence with at most one word between them in any order.

Operator Precedence:

For longer search statements, the precedence order, from highest to lowest, is as follows:

  1.      ADJ, NEAR (highest precedence)
  2.     WITH
  3.     SAME
  4.     AND, NOT, NOT SAME, NOT WITH, NOT NEAR, NOT ADJ
  5.     XOR
  6.     OR (lowest precedence)

   For example, the consider the following three search results.

Search Summary:

 No.  Search Terms                               Documents   Occurrences S1   (BANKS OR INVESTMENT AND SERVICES)[GS]         16774         59223 S2   ((BANKS OR INVESTMENT) AND SERVICES)[GS]       13434         58843 S3   (BANKS OR (INVESTMENT AND SERVICES))[GS]       16774         59223

 In the first search, TESS applies the its rules for the order of operations, first searching the two terms INVESTMENT and SERVICES in the GS field, and then combining that result via the OR operator with the search of BANKS in the GS field. In the second and third searches, the order of operations is determined by the parenthesis. Note that the counts for the first and third searches match.

[The USPTO recommends] that you include parenthesis in your longer searches to explicitly indicate the order of operations rather than submitting ambiguous queries that may not be interpreted as intended by the search engine.

 

 Truncation Operators

Operator  Meaning and Use

$  Matches zero or more continuous characters. The $ truncation operator can be used in any search field to represent 0, 1, or more than one character other than a blank space character. It is recommend that $ not be used to designate left and/or right truncation when searching the Basic Index.

$n  Matches between zero and n continuous characters. By including a numeric value following the $ truncation operator, the $ operator is limited to at most n characters.

?  Matches a single non-blank character.

*  The asterisk (*) is a special truncation operator for the permuted Basic Index [BI], Mark Index [MI], Pseudo Mark Index [PI] and Translation Index [TI] search fields only. The * symbol matches zero or more continuous characters. The permuted BI, MI, PI and TI search fields have been especially constructed to allow for the use of the * truncation operator for very fast double truncation searches. For example, the search *DOG*[BI] retrieves all marks containing the three consecutive character DOG and should perform that search much more quickly than by using the standard TESS truncation search $DOG$[BI]. Note that the asterisk truncation operation is not appropriate for use as an internal truncation operator. For example, the search NUT*AL[BI] will not retrieve hits like nutritional from the BI or TI index. Use the $ or ? truncation operators for internal truncation searches (e.g., NUT$AL[BI]).

 Pattern Matching

Additionally, TESS includes a CLASS concept for searches. You can use classes to specify which of all the searchable characters should or should not be included in your results. For your search, enclose the class operator within braces {}. For example, the class V represents the vowels A, E, I, O, U or Y. The search H{V}T[MN] will search the MN (Mark Non-Punctuated) index for all occurrences of HAT, HET, HIT, HOT, HUT, or HYT.

CLASS  CLASS CONTENTS

    A       The alphabet characters A through Z.

   C        The consonants (the letters B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y and Z).

   D        The decimal digits 0 through 9.

   E        The even digits 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8.

   M       The mixed set of characters A through Z and digits 0 through 9.

   O       The odd digits 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9. (Use the letter O, not the digit 0.)

   V       The vowels A, E, I, O, U, or Y.

The $ and ? truncation operators may be used with a character class in a search statement. Place the truncation operator outside the pattern delimiters, such as {A}$ to search for any letter (A-Z) followed by anything.

The exclamation point (!) can be used with classes to exclude the class from your search. The search A{!D}, for example, will search for the letter A followed by any character other than the digits 0 through 9.

Multiple occurrences of a class might be specified within the {} delimiters by appending a count after the class name or by repeating the class identifier. The searches H{V,V}T[BI] and H{V2}T[BI] are equivalent and should retrieve all records containing the letter H followed by two vowels followed by the letter T, such as HEAT or HOOT but not HALT.

You can combine classes with the plus sign (+). For example, the search DOG{A+O}[BI] will search for DOG followed by either a letter (A-Z) or an odd digit found in the Basic Index search field.

A class followed by a number searches for a string of that many occurrences of the class. For example, the search {D5}[BI] will search for strings of 5 consecutive digits. Alternative, use a colon (:) to specify the run length for the operator. For example, the search {D:6}[BI] will find any six character strings of digits, or the search {A4:6}[BI] will find any string of four to six letters of the range A to Z. The search CPS{M0:1}[BI] will find word mark or pseudo mark entries beginning with the three characters CPS and having either none or one character (alpha or digit) following the S.

You may designate the particular characters that should occur within the braces. For example, a search for *TE{"ckxq"}*[BI] will return results found in the Basic Index where the letter string TE is preceded by any number of characters or zero characters, immediately followed by the letters "c", "k", "x" or "q" with those characters followed by any number or zero characters. Results will include: Technology, Texture, Tech, Tecs, Teq and others.

 

 Sample Truncation Searches

Following is a search history demonstrating the $ and * truncation operators. The first search of DOG[MN] merely searches for the occurrences of the word DOG in the Mark Non-Punctuated field. A similar search DOG[BI] retrieves occurrences of DOG from the Basic index search field, with includes the text for both the Word Mark and the Pseudo Mark fields, resulting in a larger number of hits. For search 03, the $ truncation operator is used, providing all occurrences from the Mark Non-Punctuated field for the three characters DOG followed by any other characters. Search 04 performs the same truncation search as search 03 using the Basic Index and its special * truncation operator. Since the Basic Index also includes the pseudo mark search field, which is not included in the Mark Non-Punctuated field, it is not unexpected to retrieve a higher number of hits with this search. Searches 05 and 06 include double truncation.

 

#     Hits       Search

1     2005       DOG[MN]

2     2390       DOG[BI]

3     2966       DOG$[MN]

4     3337       DOG*[BI]

5      869       $DOG$[PM]

6     3771       *DOG*[BI]

The use of the vowel class is demonstrated in the following searches. For the first search, the search statement D{V}G[MN] directs TESS to search the MN [Mark Non-Punctuated] Search field for the character D followed by a vowel followed by the character G. The same search is performed by search 02 using the actual possible vowel combinations. Searches 03 and 04 confirm that the two searches are identical.

#     Hits       Search

1     2148       D{V}G[MN]

2     2148       DAG[MN] or DEG[MN] or DIG[MN] or

DOG[MN] or DUG[MN] or DYG[MN]

3        0       1 not 2

4        0       2 not 1


 Phrase Searching

TESS does not utilize implied adjacency when searching two or more terms. To designate that two or more search terms should be searched as a phrase, enclose your search in quotes. Enclosing two or more search terms in quotes tells TESS to invoke the adjacency operator. You can also enter the adjacency (adj) operator yourself between your search terms to specify adjacency. If you do not specify adjacency in a search containing two or more search terms, your search results will contain occurrences of either search term. TESS defaults to using the Boolean OR operator if no operator is specified. For example, the search (CAT FOOD)[BI] is equivalent to (CAT OR FOOD)[BI]. For the phrase CAT FOOD, the search "CAT FOOD"[BI] might be entered. Please recall that the Basic Index is the preferred index for word mark searches. Additionally, the Full Mark [FM] index is designed for exact match searches of the word mark; search for phrases in the Full Mark index by substituting a hyphen for any blank space character, as in CAT-FOOD[FM] to retrieve those few records with the word mark having the exact phrase CAT FOOD with no additional text.

When it is desirable to specify adjacency of searched terms in a search of the Basic Index, as in a phrase search, and it is desired to utilize truncation with one or more of the search terms, use of the * truncation operator is not appropriate.

Use of the * truncation operator in the Basic Index is appropriate when searching for single terms. It is also appropriate to use the * in the Basic Index when searching multiple terms within the same search statement and when the desired results do not require that the terms occur adjacent to each other in the mark. Use of the * truncation operator in the Basic Index is not appropriate if it is required that the multiple terms searched utilizing the * truncation operator appear in the mark adjacent to each other as is commonly desired when executing a phrase search.

A search of the Basic Index where adjacency of search terms is required and it is desired to include the use of truncation, use either the $ or ? truncation operators in place of the * truncation operator. For example, a search for marks that contain the two adjacent terms HOT DOG can be successfully entered in the Basic Index and utilizing truncation, as (HOT$ ADJ DOG$)[BI]. An alternative entry method would be HOT$[BI] ADJ DOG$[BI]. Truncation overflow may occur with the use of the $ or ? truncation operators.

Note that the plurals option does not apply to items in quotes. If the use of the Plurals option is desired when searching for a phrase, use the ADJ operator to designate adjacency of search terms. For example, (CAT ADJ FOOD)[BI] with the Plurals option turned on will retrieve CAT FOODS.


 Special Search Features

Quotes SHOULD be used for numeric searches in any search field so that your search will not be interpreted as a reference to a previous search statement, especially for searches of coordinated classes, international classes or U.S. classes. For example, the search for coordinated class 001 should always include quotes around the number, as in "001"[CC], so that the search system cannot mistake 001 as a reference to search statement 1. The numeric ranges for the other numeric fields typically will exceed the maximum number of statements allowed in your session. The following session demonstrates searching for the Serial Number [SN] field. Note that for the second search, the $ truncation operator in quotes was interpreted literally as a dollar sign and not interpreted as a truncation operator, resulting in no hits for the search. The third search retrieves a range of ten serial numbers (73550140 to 73550149), and the fourth search retrieves a range of 100 serial numbers (though only 99 serial number occur in that range from 73550100 to 73550199).


 #     Hits       Search

s1        1       "73550141"[SN]

s2        0       "7355014$"[SN]

s3       10       7355014$[SN]

s4       99       735501$[SN]

Alternatively, the ` operator can be used for numeric range searches, as shown in the following example search of the Filing Date field for all filing date entries for the year 1985.

  #     Hits       Search

s1    59803       `FD > 19850000 < 19860000


The following numeric comparisons can be used with the ` numeric operator in searches.

Numeric Comparison                Meaning

                  =                              Equal to

                 <>                            Not equal to

                  >                             Greater than

                 >=                           Greater than or equal to

                 <                              Less than

               <=                             Less than or equal to

The apostrophe is not a searchable character and is treated like a blank space (end of word indicator) in TESS 1.1. For example, the owner name Landry's Trademark is actually the three words Landry, S and Trademark. Using quotes for implied adjacency, an owner name search for Landry's Trademark would be "LANDRY S TRADEMARK"[ON]. Note that the apostrophe was replaced by a blank space. An alternative search for the same owner using the ADJ adjacency operator would be LANDRY ADJ S ADJ TRADEMARK[ON].

Suppose you wish to retrieve only marks that have a word repeated in the word mark field. For example, suppose the mark of interest was READER TO READER. The search READER[BI,TI] SAME READER[BI,TI] will provide some undesirable hits containing the word READER only once. Instead, use the NEAR operator in the MP (Mark Punctuated) or MN (Mark Non-Punctuated) fields, as in READER[MP] NEAR2 READER[MP] or READER[MN] NEAR2 READER[MN].

The searches ("003" or "005" or "008")[IC]> and "003"[IC] or "005"[IC] or "008"[IC]> provide identical results, as expected; however, the second format is more efficient, providing the search results more quickly than the first format.

For searches for abbreviations, do not include the final period of the abbreviation. For example, consider searching for "E.S. Originals" in the owner name field. While you might expect the search "E.S. ORIGINALS"[ON] to retrieve the desired records, but the final period of "E.S." should NOT be included in the search. The desired search is "E.S ORIGINALS"[ON]. Additionally, consider that data entry is not always consistent, as a blank space may have been entered between the first two initials of the mark. A more complete search for the owner "E.S. Originals" would be (E ADJ S ADJ ORIGINALS)[ON] OR ("E.S ORIGINALS")[ON]. This search retrieves occurrences of "E. S. Originals" or "E.S. Originals" in the single search.

Use periods instead of brackets to designate the search field: As an alternative to using the left and right brackets, periods can be used to designate the desired search fields. For example, the search DOG.BI,TI. could be submitted as an alternative to the DOG[BI,TI] search.

Not Searching a Specific Paragraph: To retrieve documents when a search term does not occur in a specified paragraph, precede the search field with a minus sign if brackets are used for the search field. For example, the search DOG[-GS] finds all records with the word DOG in all fields except the GS field (though DOG may also occur in the GS field). Alternatively, the syntax DOG..GS. could be used (preceding the field tag by two periods instead of one) if you prefer designating the search field with the period character instead of brackets.


{Missing section on characters}

 Common Search Strategies

The following are X-Search 1.1 strategies that may help users when searching the terms Easy, Flex, Master, Matic, Pack, Profession, Quick, Tech, Tron, High, Light, Tele and Magic. These sample searches may assist you in developing your TESS search strategies.

SPECIAL NOTE: Users should evaluate whether the use of one of these search strategies is the best way to search for the mark. In addition, users are cautioned that the blind use of these strategies could result in relevant marks being missed. Users of these search strategies should become acquainted with and routinely review the pattern matching and truncation rules for TESS to ensure that the search strategies selected will return the type of results that the user expects. Trademarks containing unique or corrupt spellings of words may not be retrieved by the search due to odd letter combinations or spacing contained in a mark that may not be addressed by these search strategies.

EASY *ea{"szc"}{"iey"}*[bi,ti] *eez*[bi,ti] or *ees*[bi,ti] or ez*[bi,ti] (e same (z or ze or se or ce))[bi,ti]

FLEX *fle$2{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti] *phle$2{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

MASTER *mas$t$r*[bi,ti]

MATIC *ma$2t{"iy"}{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

PACK *pa{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

PROFESSION *pro*[bi,ti]

QUICK (note: This strategy takes longer than the others to complete. Approx. 2 minutes. This is due to the number of patterns that the search is matching.) *{"kcq"}{"uw"}i{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti] *q{"iey"}{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

TECH *te{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

TRON *tron*[bi,ti]

HIGH (*hi* or *hy*)[bi,ti]

LIGHT (*light* or *lit* or *lyt*)[bi,ti]

TELE *tel*[bi,ti]

MAGIC *ma$2{"gj"}$2{"ckqx"}*[bi,ti]

 

 Dictionary Browse

This tab is used to enter a term, select an index and to see about 10 items in the dictionary around that term. An entry from the resulting items can be selected and, with a right click, copied to the clipboard so that it may later be pasted to your search statement. To restrict the dictionary browse to a specific index, include the index name with your browse term. For example, the browse BOONE[MP] will retrieve dictionary entries around the word BOONE from the MP (word mark with punctuation) index, as shown below.

TERM  Docs  Hits

BOONDOCKERS[MP]  2  2

BOONDOCKS[MP]  1  1

BOONDOGGLE[MP]  5  5

BOONDOGGLES[MP]  1  1

BOONDOK[MP]  1  1

BOONE[MP]  73  74

BOONEEZ[MP]  1  1

BOONEKAMP[MP]  1  1

BOONENA[MP]  1  1

BOONESBOROUGH[MP]  1  1

BOONET[MP]  1  1


 Search History

The Search History label of the search screen provides for the display of your searches and hit counts for your session. At any point in your session, you may select Search History to display your session summary as an HTML page with the browser and print your session summary via the print options of your browser.

Alternatively, the drop-down box under the Search History label allows you to view your previous searches. Selecting one of those prior searches from that drop-down box and then performing a submit will re-execute that search so that you may view the hits again.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Note: The following symbols indicate that the registrant/owner has amended the goods/services:

Brackets [..] indicate deleted goods/services;     

Double parenthesis ((..)) identify any goods/services not claimed in a Section 15 affadivit of incontestability; and     

Asterisks *..* identify additional (new) wording in the goods/services.


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Frequently Asked Questions About Trademarks

Does abandoned or cancelled mean one can register that trademark? The USPTO cannot make any determination on a mark's registrability based upon the abandoned or cancelled status of a prior application or registration. Each case must be decided on its own merits at the time of examination. Abandoned applications may be revived and cancelled or expired registrations may be reinstated under certain circumstances. The status of an application or registration may not have any effect on the priority of rights in a mark as determined by a court of law. While an abandoned application or cancelled or expired registration may not form the basis of a refusal by the USPTO to register a subsequently filed application, third parties may assert rights in marks that were the subject of such abandoned applications or cancelled/expired registrations during opposition proceedings filed against the later-filed application.

Why is there a different * truncation operator for the Basic Index [BI] and the permuted Translation Index [TI]? For trademark examination, there is frequent use of both left and right truncation for the search terms. No commercially available search engine could be found that provides the desired response times for double truncation searches. Adding an internal truncation operator further degrades the performance. To circumvent this performance issue for truncation searches, these two indexes (BI and TI) were constructed with the asterisk (*) embedded as a truncation character for all permutations of the words in the word mark, pseudo mark and translation. Any truncation search using the asterisk in the Basic Index or Translation Index becomes an exact match search, a very efficient search that provides the desired performance. The normal dollar sign ($) truncation operator does work in these two indices, but for left, right, or double truncation, using the dollar sign ($) as the truncation operator is far less efficient than using the asterisk (*) truncation operator.

Why aren't the hits sorted in descending serial number order? At this time, the order of the hits is the reverse order of updates performed to the database. When any portion of the record for a serial number is modified, that entire record is updated on TESS, and that updated record is moved to the top of the list for retrieval. [The USPTO] are investigating the implementation of sorting options for TESS.

Why are there so many indexes for the word mark? Multiple word mark indexes were created to address the various searching requirements. In most cases, the Basic Index will provide your desired search results. For some very specific searches, the other word mark indexes may provide better results. For example, the Full Mark index [FM] may be useful for retrieving all marks containing only a single word or very specific character sequences.

Why isn't Phonetic Searching available? The underlying TESS Search software from Dataware does not include a phonetic search option. Phonetic searches generally provide many unwanted records. The pattern matching capabilities of the TESS Search product provide the flexibility of creating your own phonetic searches. [The USPTO] are working towards providing additional hints in the online help for constructing phonetic searches using the existing capabilities of the TESS Search product.

My search resulted in too many hits to be reviewed. How can I improve my search to reduce the number of hits to review? Did you tag each search term for a specific search field? If you're interested in Word Marks, for example, you may wish to search the Basic Index [BI]. Did you specify the International Class associated with your area of interest. For example, you may wish to restrict you hits to International Class 014 if your interest is JEWELRY by appending AND "014"[IC] to your search, or you may achieve the same result by using back references to refine your searches. Did you consider eliminating the dead marks from your result list by appending AND LIVE[LD] to your search?

How does one use back references? There are two common ways of refining your searches by using back references. The simple manner is to take advantage of the Back button of your browser to return to the search screen of your last query, modify your original search, and then submit the new search. Alternatively, you may refer to previous searches by indicating the search statement number, preceded by an S, in your new search. A simple example should clarify both these techniques.

Using the Advanced search screen, suppose your first search was *DOG*[BI,TI] to retrieve all occurrences of the word segment DOG occurring in the word mark, pseudo mark, or translation field. You receive over 4000 hits, probably more hits than you really want to review. Using the BACK button of your browser, you might return to the search screen and modify the search to read *DOG*[BI,TI] AND LIVE[LD]. This new search results about half as many hits as the original search, but you still have too many hits to review. You might then return to the search screen and restrict your hits to a particular International Class, say 014 for jewelry by revising your search to read *DOG*[BI,TI] AND LIVE[LD] AND "014"[IC]. Modifications like these to your original search can reduce your count of hits to a more manageable number. In this case, the total count of hits was reduced to under 30.

Another means of achieving the same result is through back references. Each of the individual search terms of the above example can be performed as separate searches. Search statement 1 would be *DOG*[BI,TI], search statement 2 would be LIVE[LD], and search statement 3 would be "014"[IC]. A fourth search statement of S1 AND S2 AND S3 combines the three searches and results in only those marks that satisfied all three searches.

No.  Search Terms  Search Terms  Occurrences

S1  *DOG*[BI,TI]  4211  4343

S2  LIVE[LD]  1363687  1363687

S3  "014"[IC]  41704  41758

S4  S1 and S2 and S3  21  63

On the Structured Search screen, use the default "ALL" fields as your search field for back reference searches.

 Why isn't the Attorney of Record available in TESS? On August 9, 2000, the attorney of record information was added to TESS as a search and display field. TSDR has been updated to display the Attorney of Record and correspondence address information.

What does a status of "dead" or "abandoned" mean? If an application shows a status of dead or abandoned, it means THAT specific application is no longer under prosecution within the USPTO, and would not be used as a bar against your filing. However, it does not necessarily mean that there are not OTHER marks which the examining attorney would cite. Also, there is always the possibility that an abandoned application COULD be revived (e.g., if the USPTO declared the application abandoned for failure of the applicant to respond to an Office action, but the applicant establishes that a response was sent, and the USPTO simply failed to match it with the file in a timely manner, then the case will be revived). Also, regardless of the status of an application within the office, the owner may still claim common law rights.

What does the search result Word Limit Overflow mean? The Word Limit Overfow error message is usually the result of a complicated search that mixes truncation with Boolean or proximity operators, as in the search DOG$ ADJ FOOD$. Restructuring the search with back references may allow an equivalent set of searches to complete.  For this example, the search DOG$[ALL] can be submitted on the structured search screen as an initial search, resulting in approximately 12,500 hits.  A second search of FOOD$[ALL] on the structured search screen returns over 106,000 hits. Given the sizes of these two result list, it's easy to see how an overflow occurred for the search engine. A third search of S1[ALL] ADJ S2[ALL] finds the hits in common for the first two search, returning the approximately 1750 hits desired for the original DOG$ ADJ FOOD$ search. For the Free Format search screen, the syntax is essentially the same, although it is not necessary to specify the [ALL] index as specified in the structured search; the third search can be entered as S1 ADJ S2.

 An assignment was filed with the USPTO to report the change in ownership for a trademark, yet TESS shows the previous ownership for the trademark prior to the assignment. Why isn't TESS showing the proper ownership? What can be done to get the ownership corrected on TESS? These questions concern two separate databases maintained at the USPTO: the TRAM (Trademark Reporting and Application Monitoring) database of all trademarks and an Assignments database of patent and trademark assignments recorded at the USPTO. The public on-line search system, TESS, is reflects data from the in-house TRAM database. Unfortunately, the Assignments database currently is not available for searching on the USPTO website and information from the Assignments database is not automatically transferred into TRAM or TESS. In order to have a recorded change of ownership of an application or registration changed in TRAM and TESS, the owner must make that request separately to the Trademark Operation. For a pending application, the owner must inform the Examining Attorney assigned to its application that there has been a change, that an assignment has been recorded with the USPTO and that the owner wants the registration to issue in the name of the new owner. For a registration, the Post-Registration section of the Office must be informed and, for a fee, the registration will be amended to reflect the name of the new owner.

  Known Issues {several sections are missing except for these sections below]

 Idle Session Terminates After 10 Minutes!

Currently, if your TESS session is idle for 10 minutes, the session is terminated to free system resources for other searchers. You may then start a new session, but searches from your terminated session will not be available for use as back references. Sorry, but this is a necessary limitation for TESS to support a large number of simultaneous users.

Glossary

TSDR  Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system, the most up-to-date trademark information provided by the USPTO on the Web.

TESS  Trademark Electronic Search System.

TMEP  Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure.

TRAM  Trademark Reporting and Monitoring, the master database of electronic trademark records at USPTO.

USPTO  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

X-Search  The TESS equivalent in USPTO using a customized user interface instead of a Web browser to search and display the text and image records.

Also see a glossary of terms used on the USPTO web site at http://www.uspto.gov/main/glossary/index.html.


Search Principles

Following are the likelihood of confusion search principles used by the USPTO that you may want to consider prior to submitting a trademark application. You must decide which of these search principles may be appropriate for your trademark search. Even if you diligently follow all these search principles, that does not necessarily guarantee that you will find all potential citations under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act.

  1.     Conduct a Thorough Search.
  2.     Search All Forms of all the Distinctive Elements of the Mark.
  3.     Search Each Distinctive Element Alone.
  4.     Search Acronyms AND What They Stand For.
  5.     Search All the Legal Word Equivalents of Terms.
  6.     Search Component Parts of Individual Terms When Necessary.
  7.     Searches for Marks Consisting of Two or More Separate Terms Should be Conducted so that the Two Terms Would be Retrieved Whether They Run Together or are Separate.
  8.     Search Pictorial Equivalents for Distinctive Terms and Vice Versa When Appropriate.
  9.     Search all Phonetic Equivalents
  10.     Search all English Equivalents


OPERATORS

AND

Boolean AND - Records retrieved will contain the each of the search terms specified. The order of occurrence of the search terms in the record is not restricted.

OR

Boolean OR - Records retrieved will contain at least one of the search terms specified.

NOT

Boolean NOT - Records retrieved will not include the search term following the NOT operator. NOT may be used with the SAME or WITH operators to retrieve documents that contain the first term but do not contain the second term in the same paragraph or sentence.

XOR

Exclusive OR - For two search terms, records will include either the first term or the second term, but not both.

SAME

The search terms occur in the same paragraph. This operator may be useful for searches of Goods and Services (i.e., searching for two or more terms within the same Goods and Services entry).

WITH

The search terms occur in the same sentence.

ADJ#

The search terms occur in the adjacent to each other in the order specified in the search. A numeric qualifier (1-99) can be appended to ADJ to allow additional words to be between the two search terms.

NEAR#

The search terms occur in the same sentence within the specified number of words of each other. For example, the search DOG NEAR2 CAT will retrieve records for which the words DOG and CAT appear in the same sentence with at most one word between them in any order.

Truncation Operators

Operator

Meaning and Use

$

Matches zero or more continuous characters. The $ truncation operator can be used in any search field to represent 0, 1, or more than one character other than a blank space character. It is recommend that $ not be used to designate left and/or right truncation when searching the Basic Index.

$n

Matches between zero and n continuous characters. By including a numeric value following the $ truncation operator, the $ operator is limited to at most n characters.

?

Matches a single non-blank character.

*

The asterisk (*) is a special truncation operator for the permuted Basic Index [BI], Mark Index [MI], Pseudo Mark Index [PI] and Translation Index [TI] search fields only. The * symbol matches zero or more continuous characters. The permuted BI, MI, PI and TI search fields have been especially constructed to allow for the use of the * truncation operator for very fast double truncation searches. For example, the search *DOG*[BI] retrieves all marks containing the three consecutive character DOG and should perform that search much more quickly than by using the standard TESS truncation search $DOG$[BI]. Note that the asterisk truncation operation is not appropriate for use as an internal truncation operator. For example, the search NUT*AL[BI] will not retrieve hits like nutritional from the BI or TI index. Use the $ or ? truncation operators for internal truncation searches (e.g., NUT$AL[BI]).

[AD] Abandonment Date

[OD] Other Data

[AF] Affidavits

[ON] Owner Name

[AR] Assignment Recorded

[OW] Owner Name and Address

[AT] Attorney of Record

[PD] Priority Date

[BI] Basic Index

[PF] Physical Filing Date

[CB] Current Basis

[PI] Pseudo Mark Index

[CC] Coordinated Class

[PM] Pseudo Mark

[CD] Cancellation Date

[PO] Published for Opposition

[CR] Change in Registration

[PR] Prior Registrations

[DC] Design Search Code

[RD] Registration Date

[DD] Design Description

[RE] Renewals

[DE] Description of Mark

[RG] Register

[DM] Decimal Mark

[RN] Registration Number

[DS] Disclaimer

[SF] Section 44 Indicator

[FD] Filing Date

[SD] Single Design Code

[FM] Full Mark

[SN] Serial Number

[GS] Goods and Services

[SO] Serial - Other Formats

[IC] International Class

[SR] Date Amended to Current Register

[IR] International Registration

[ST] Standard Characters Claimed

[LD] Live/Dead

[TC] TSF Classification Code Index (limited to 8-28-07 through 1-31-11)

[MD] Mark Drawing Code

[TD] Total Designs

[MI] Mark Index

[TF] Distinctiveness Limitation Statement

[MN] Mark Non-Punctuated

[TI] Translation Index

[MP] Mark Punctuated [Word Mark]

[TL] Translation

[OB] Original Filing Basis

[TM] Type of Mark


[UD] Update/Load Date


[US] US Class

Select A Search Option

 Basic Word Mark Search (New User)

This option cannot be used to search design marks.

 Word and/or Design Mark Search (Structured)

This option is used to search word and/or design marks. NOTE: You must first use the Design Search Code Manual to look up the relevant Design Codes.

 Word and/or Design Mark Search (Free Form)

This option allows you to construct word and/or design searches using Boolean logic and multiple search fields. NOTE: You must first use the Design Search Code Manual to look up the relevant Design Codes.



Additional Search Options

 Browse Dictionary (Browse Dictionary)

This option browses all fields in the database unless you limit to a particular field. Results are returned in a dictionary-style (alphabetic) format.

 Search OG Publication Date or Registration Date (Search OG)

This option searches the Official Gazette for marks published or registered on a particular date.

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TMk® Email W@TMK.law for U.S. Licensed Attorney for Trademark Searches and Applications; File or Defend an Opposition or Cancellation; Trademark Refusal; Brand Positioning

For more information from Not Just Patents, see our other pages and sites:      

USPTO Trademark Search   TEAS Application TEAS Plus  Where to trademark search?  TmSearch.US.com

Trademark e Search  New USPTO Trademark Searching  

Common Law Trademarks   Trademark A-Z

Grounds for Refusal  ITU unit action

Tm1a.com: Why 1(a)? Tm1b.com: Why 1(b) trademark?

Trademark Disclaimers Trademark/Patent Assignment

Examples of Disclaimers FREE Resources

Patent, Trademark & Copyright Inventory Forms

Trademark Search Method TEAS Standard application    

How to Trademark Search

Phonetic Equivalent Examples  Website specimens

Trademark ID manual

Phonetic Equivalents New Search

Using Slogans (Taglines), Model Numbers as Trademarks

Which format? When Should I  Use Standard Characters?

Change Trademark or Patent Ownership    

 Opposition Proceeding    

TTAB Discovery Conference Checklist

Lack of standing is not an Affirmative Defense

Trademark Register FAQ  Definition: Clearance Search

teas plus vs teas standard   

Amend to Supplemental Register?    Knockout Searching

General Rules Likelihood of Confusion   Dominant Elements

Trademark Search Hack-Use the same method as USPTO   

Experience appearing before the Board (TTAB)

Trademark Specimen  Statement of Use (SOU)

How To Show Acquired Distinctiveness Under 2(f)

Trademark  Refusal  Opposition Period

Which TEAS application is less likely to be refused?

Examples of Composite or Unitary Marks  

TEAS Plus refusal rate  tesssearch  Brand Positioning Help

What Does ‘Use in Commerce’ Mean?    

Grounds for Opposition & Cancellation

Notice of Opposition trademark sample

What is a Trademark Specimen?     Trademark Searching


TBMP 309 Grounds Opposition/Canc.  

Make Trademark Searching More Thorough

   

What are Dead or Abandoned Trademarks?

Can I Use An Abandoned Trademark?  

3D Marks Trade Dress TTAB Extension of Time  

Can I Abandon a Trademark During An Opposition?

Differences between TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard  

Extension of Time to Oppose

 tess search  Examples of Unusual Trademarks

  Extension of time to answer  

What Does Published for Opposition Mean?

What to Discuss in the Discovery Conference

Overcoming Merely Descriptive Refusal  TmkApp Checklist

Likelihood of Confusion 2d  TMK.law–Knowing the law matters

Acquired Distinctiveness Examples  2(f) or 2(f) in part

Definition: Likelihood of confusion

Merely Descriptive Trademarks  Merely Descriptive Refusals

Definition of Related goods and services for trademarks

ID of Goods and Services see also Headings (list) of International Trademark Classes How to search ID Manual

How to TESS trademark search-Trademark Electronic Search System

Extension of Time to Oppose

Geographically Descriptive or Deceptive

Change of Address with the TTAB using ESTTA

Likelihood of confusion-Circuit Court tests  Trademark Glossary

Pseudo Marks    How to Reply to Cease and Desist Letter

Why Hire A Private Trademark Attorney?

 Merely Descriptive Refusal   Avoid Likelihood of Confusion

Common Law Rights for Domain Names

Steps in a Trademark Opposition Process   

Published for Opposition  What is Discoverable in a TTAB Proceeding Affirmative Defenses  

What is the Difference between Principal & Supplemental Register?   

What is a Family of Marks? What If Someone Files An Opposition Against My Trademark? Statutory Cause of Action (aka Standing)

Tips for responding to tm Refusal  

DIY Overcoming Merely Descriptive Refusals

TESS Trademark Trademark Registration Answers TESS database  

Trademark Searching Using TESS  Trademark Search Tips

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