The Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) System is an online database provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for trademark owners to check the status of their trademark. This database is one of the most important tools provided by the federal agency to its users as it offers access to viewing, printing, and downloading snapshots of the data the USPTO stores about a trademark application or registration. TSDR 2.0 is the updated version of this database that integrates TDR and TARR which were previously used by companies and trademark professionals.
Fig 1: Home Page of Trademark Status and Document Retrieval System
Now we are going to discuss some important facts that are being asked by trademark professionals most often. Let’s read those facts one by one…!
What is a ‘Notice of Allowance’ (NOA)?
The first and foremost thing we need to understand about NOA is that being issued an NOA doesn’t mean that your mark is registered. The ‘Notice of Allowance’ also called NOA is merely a declaration from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and thus can be allowed for registration. These are issued only to those trademark applications that are filed on the basis of “Intent to Use”.
This is one of the most important documents trademark professionals can have and the importance of an NOA lies on the fact is that it establishes the due date for filing a Statement of Use (SOU) which is 6 months from the date the NOA is issued. If the applicant fails to timely file a Statement of Use or a request for an extension of time to file a Statement of Use, the application will go abandoned.
Fig 2: Notice of Allowance (NOA) Sample
What does ‘Notice of Acceptance of Statement of Use’ mean?
A ‘Notice of Acceptance of Statement of Use’ means the Statement of Use has been approved for Intent to Use application that has already been through its Opposition Period with no opposition and the trademark should be registered in 4-6 weeks.
Fig 3: Notice of Acceptance of Statement of Use
What does Registration Certificate mean?
This is one step forward wherein a trademark is deemed registered with the USPTO and a certificate is given to the registrant on record.
Fig 4: A Sample Registration Certificate
What does ‘Publication & Issue Review Complete’ mean?
This means the trademark has gone under final review process and will be published in the Official Gazette when it is registered. In other words, we can say is that the respective trademark application has been approved by the Examining Attorney, and passed along to the Publication Review Committee. The Committee has reviewed the file and found it acceptable and will be published soon.
What does ‘ITU Unit Action’ mean?
This means that the patent office is all set to take action on a particular Intent to Use Application filed by an applicant. The term ‘action’ is a broad term that includes approving or disapproving a Statement of Use (SOU) or Alleged Amendment of Use (AAU) or approving or disapproving a request for an extension of time to submit a specimen of use.
What does ‘Statement of Use’ mean?
It’s a kind of allegation of use being notified by an applicant to the USPTO. It is a sworn statement signed by the applicant attesting to use of the mark by a third party.
Fig 5: Initial Part of Statement of Use Form
These are only a few of many facts trademark professionals can have about the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval System (TSDR).
Our experienced team at TMReady keep themselves updated with all rules and regulations and hence your trademark search will always yield the best result. For further imformation, please visit our service page.
