USPTO Trademark Case Files
Dataset
USPTO Office of Chief Economist
World Intellectual Property Organization
31 January 2013
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Agenda
• U.S. Trademark System Background
• Trademark Case Files Dataset
– Organizational Structure
– Data Coverage
– Data Files
• User Resources
• Planned Data Releases
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U.S. Trademark System Background
• Common law trademark system
• Federal registration affords additional rights
• Eligibility requirements (absolute grounds)
– Use in commerce (or bona fide intent to use)
– Inherent or acquired distinctiveness
• Relative grounds for refusal
• Nice classification (since 01Sept1973)
• Inter partes opposition and cancellation proceedings
• Principal & Supplemental Register
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U.S. Trademark System Background
• Registration maintenance and renewal
– Sixth-year maintenance – establish continued use
on good/services listed prior to the end of the sixthyear of registration
– Renewal – establish continued use and file renewal
application prior to the end of each successive
renewal term:
• Issued on or after 16Nov1989 – 10-year terms
• Issued/Renewed prior to 16Nov1989 – 20-year
term until first renewal event after 16Nov1989;
10-year terms thereafter
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Trademark Case Files Dataset
• Derived from USPTO main database for administering
trademark applications and registrations
• 6.7 million serial no. observations
• Filing or registrations dates between Mar1823-Jan2012
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Organizational Structure
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Data Coverage: Registrations
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Data Coverage: Applications
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Data Files
per serial
number
serial
number
count
mean
Mark registration
4,007,943
0.598
event
79,226,385 13.475 9.075
Live registration
1,763,364
0.263
owner
13,813,383 2.363
1.109
2,699,765
0.402
7,238,351 1.237
0.833
417,749
0.062
11,779,403 2.024
1.272
design_search
3,721,378 2.949
2.016
prior_mark
1,627,902 2.101
2.260
316,702 1.080
0.480
33,704 1.091
0.343
case_file
Mark application
Pending application
secondary data file
Trademark
3,988,072
0.595
Service mark
2,102,587
0.313
Use
2,837,358
0.423
Intent to use
2,782,273
0.415
Observations
6,707,708
classification
statement
foreign_app
madrid_intl_file
count
mean
sd
9
Case_file
• Primary data file – bibliographic or “front page” data
– Identifiers – serial no., registration no., international registration no.
– Dates – filing, publication, abandonment, registration, renewal,
cancellation
– Status code/date
• Pending or abandoned application
• Live or dead registration
– Mark text & drawing code
– Indicators
• Legal bases at filing and current
• Mark type – trade, service, collective, certification
• Design elements – 3D, color
• Acquired distinctiveness
• Various prosecution events – amendments, pending proceedings
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Case_file: Filing & Registration Trends
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Case_file: Use vs. Intended Use
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Case_file: Live Registrations
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Correspondent_domrep_attorney
• Extract from case_file source XML
– Correspondent
– Attorney
– Domestic representative
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Event
• Event(s) recorded during prosecution for each serial no.
• Docketing, office actions, abandonment,
publication for opposition, TTAB proceedings,
maintenance, renewal, cancellation/expiration
– Code
– Sequence
– Category type
– Date (recordation)
• Event description (Appendix II)
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Event:1995 filing year based on use
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Owner
• Owner record(s) for each serial no.
– Owner type
– Within type sequence
– Name
– Address (street, city, state, country, postal code)
– Nationality (state or country of origin)
– Legal entity code
– Alternative names/Composed of
• Name_change (owner_id)
– Assignment name change description
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Owner: Legal Status
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Classification
• Primary class(es) for each serial no.
– Class
– Status code/date
– Date of first use anywhere
– Date of first use in commerce
– Nice class count
– U.S. class count
• Intl_class (class_id)
• US_class (class_id)
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Classification: Classes per serial no.
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Classification: Filing lag
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Statement
• Text statement(s) appearing on application or
registration for each serial no.
– Code
– Text
• Goods and services
• Mark descriptions
• Disclaimers
• Certification mark statement
• Concurrent use statement
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Design_search
• Design search code(s) for each serial no.
– Code
• Category.Division.Section
• Example:
– 19.09.06
• Category 19 – Baggage, containers,
bottles
• Division 9 – Bottles, jars, flasks
• Section 6 – Bottles, jars or flasks with
ribbing or other surface relief
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Prior_mark
• Prior registration(s) and/or application(s) for which
applicant claims ownership:
– Prior no. (serial no. or registration no.)
– Type
– Potential error indicator (constructed)
24
Prior_mark: Citation lag
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Foreign_app
• Foreign application(s) for which applicant claims
priority:
– Application country of origin
– Foreign application no., filing date, and sequence
of record entry
– Foreign registration no., registration date, and
expiration date
– Foreign renewal no., renewal date, and expiration
date
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Madrid_intl_file
• Madrid international filing record(s) for each serial no.
– International registration no., registration date, and
renewal date
– Sequence
– Status code/date
– Response to irregularity date
– Date USPTO received international filing request
– USPTO reference no.
• Madrid_event (mir_id) – Event(s) recorded during
Madrid processing
– Code, date, and sequence
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User Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
USPTO Trademark Case Files Dataset
– http://www.uspto.gov/ip/officechiefecon/tm_casefiles.jsp
Working Paper
– http://www.uspto.gov/ip/officechiefecon/USPTO_Trademark_Case_
Files_Dataset_Descriptions_Lessons_Insights_January2013.pdf
Trademark Applications Documentation (TAD)
– www.uspto.gov/products/tmdailyapp-documentation.pdf
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) and other manuals
and guides
– http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/resources/index.jsp
Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR)
– http://tsdr.uspto.gov/
Office of the Chief Economist: EconomicsData@uspto.gov
– Amanda.Fila@uspto.gov [Amanda.Myers]
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Planned Data Releases
• Trademark Case Files 2012 Update
• Trademark Assignments Database
• Patent Assignments Database
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