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Your trademark application cleared the examining attorney. Great news. But if you think the process is finished, it isn’t. Not yet.
There are still steps between approval and registration, and missing any of them can cost you the trademark you just spent months waiting for.
Publication in the Official Gazette
After the examiner approves your application, your mark gets published in the USPTO’s Official Gazette. This is a weekly publication that gives the public a chance to object. Specifically, anyone who believes your trademark would damage them.
The opposition window lasts 30 days. During that time, a third party can file an opposition or request more time to do so.
Most applications sail through without any issues. But if someone does file, you’re looking at a proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. That’s a legal challenge and it requires a serious response.
If No One Opposes
What happens next depends on how you filed.
If you filed on a use-in-commerce basis (1a), your mark goes straight to registration. The USPTO issues your certificate, usually within a few weeks after the opposition period closes. You’re registered.
If you filed on an intent-to-use basis (1b), there’s one more step. You’ll get a Notice of Allowance (NOA), which means the USPTO approved your mark but you still need to prove you’re actually using it in commerce.
You have six months from the NOA to file a Statement of Use with a specimen showing how the mark is being used. Need more time? You can request extensions, up to five additional six-month periods, but each one has a fee.
Registration and Your Certificate
Once everything clears, the USPTO issues your registration certificate. This is when you can start using the ® symbol. Not before.
Registration gives you nationwide priority for the mark in connection with the goods and services in your application. It’s the foundation for any enforcement action you might need to take later.
Registration Doesn’t Mean You’re Done
This catches people off guard. A trademark registration isn’t permanent by default. You have ongoing obligations.
Between years 5 and 6 after registration, you must file a Declaration of Use (Section 8). You can also file a Declaration of Incontestability (Section 15), which strengthens your rights. Miss that window and your registration gets cancelled.
Every 10 years after that, you file a combined Declaration of Use and Renewal (Sections 8 and 9). Miss it, and the registration is gone.
We’ve seen business owners invest in getting registered and then lose it because a maintenance filing slipped through the cracks. One of the most preventable mistakes in trademark law.
Getting approved is a milestone, not the finish line. Pay attention to publication, file your Statement of Use on time if you’re on intent-to-use, and put your maintenance deadlines on the calendar the day your certificate arrives. A trademark only protects you if you maintain it.