About

Distinctive Mark reports and explains United States trademark law as it is practiced. That means the decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, examination at the US Patent and Trademark Office, and the federal courts. We cover international developments only for what they change for a US filing, a US registration or a US brand.

Who it is for

We write for two kinds of reader.

• Practitioners: trademark attorneys, in-house counsel, and foreign counsel with clients filing in the United States. They are the readers who will check our work, and they set the standard for accuracy.
• Brand owners: founders and businesses in the United States and abroad who choose, file, keep and defend marks. They set the standard for clarity.

Most pieces serve both. Each opens with a plain-language takeaway for owners, followed by the analysis and citations for practitioners. Where one exists, it links to a Before You File guide that explains the step an owner controls.

What you will find here

• TTAB Rulings: precedential Board decisions and the non-precedential ones that show a new pattern, each summarized from the opinion itself.
• Commentary: field guides to recurring problems, built from the controlling decisions and rules.
• Before You File: evergreen guides for owners on choosing, clearing, filing, maintaining and protecting a mark, including a series for businesses coming to the United States from abroad.
• The Wire: trademark news from the USPTO, the courts, international offices and the press, each item linked to its source.

We pay particular attention to data and empirical research about trademarks: studies of examination and registration outcomes, the USPTO's public datasets, TTAB decision records, and court cases. When we can, we count things ourselves, and we say how we counted.

Who publishes it

Distinctive Mark is published anonymously by its editors, without bylines. We do not state or imply that any piece was written or reviewed by an attorney. If that changes for an item, the item will say so. How we choose, source, correct and label our work is set out in our editorial policy.

The name

Trademark law ranks marks on a spectrum: generic, descriptive, suggestive, arbitrary, fanciful. The further a mark sits from the generic end, the more distinctive it is and the more protection it gets. We chose a name from the strong end of that scale. We aim for the same in our coverage.

Not legal advice

Everything here is general information about the law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship with anyone. We do not answer questions about readers' own marks or disputes. Please do not send us confidential information. If you need advice about your own situation, consult a lawyer licensed in the relevant jurisdiction. If you are domiciled outside the United States and dealing with the USPTO, US rules require a US-licensed attorney.