Trademark Timeline — Why Filing Isn’t Enough

For business owners, the phrase “you need to file for a trademark” is commonly heard. While that is true, just filing isn’t enough. Once your application is filed, it takes three to four months for the application to be reviewed by the examining attorney of the USPTO. If you receive an Office Action (an official letter from the examining attorney stating that there is a problem with your application), you must respond within six months in order for your application to move forward. If you do not respond, your application will be abandoned and you will have to file a brand new application if you want to proceed. In order to understand why just filing the application does not grant you ownership rights or protection from infringement claims, we must first go over the timeline for a trademark application. I am using this handy chart published on the USPTO’s website which can be found here.

As you can see from this chart, just submitting the application is only the first step. The entire trademark process is typically between ten and fourteen months. Additionally, just filing the application does not clear you for use of the name, slogan, or logo you are filing to protect. I have seen too many people file for the trademark application and then proceed ahead with marketing campaigns on a name that they may or may not eventually own the rights for.