A Recent Surge in TM Application Filings Causes Examination Delays

The United States has slowly been reopening across the nation, and with it, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has seen trying to catch up to the surge in intellectual property applications since the beginning of 2021. In fact, the U.S has reported an almost 60% increase in trademark application filings.

Growth in eCommerce and Streaming Sectors Parallels Surge in TM Application Filings

The surge in trademark applications at the U.S. Trademark Office have predominantly resulted from growth in e-commerce. Less explosive growth was experienced in entertainment sectors that saw significant growth in streaming services and expanded content offerings. For example, Disney has seen significant return in taking their Marvel Universe offerings to their streaming platform of Disney+. The success of shows like WandaVision and Loki were widespread enough that there were rumors that Disney had tried to trademark Loki, a god of Norse mythology, with petitions on Change.org receiving thousands of signatures to stop such an endeavor. (Disney eventually released a statement that they had no intentions of trademarking Loki.) 

Surge in TM Application Filings Causes Examination Delays 

But even though states are gradually getting back to work, the USPTO is still experiencing delays, and as result, are having a difficult time processing the new applications. Moreover, it is not only initial filings that are experiencing delays at the U.S. Trademark Office, but all aspects of the trademark prosecution process (including Office Actions) have extended wait times. The average wait time for substantive review is currently taking approximately five months while the overall prosecution of an application is reaching almost eleven months of wait time.

And ironically, as companies have rushed to protect their e-commerce and online offerings, that same explosion in growth is also threatening to make it difficult for online marketplaces to obtain registrations used to fight infringers and counterfeiters in the same e-commerce space. Infringers on websites such as Amazon and Alibaba have, no doubt, enjoyed the same growth in e-commerce sales.

Key Takeaways on the Surge in U.S. Trademark Application Filings

Your trademark application is likely to be delayed by at least half a year because:

• The trademark office has seen an almost 60% growth in trademark filings since the beginning of 2021;

• The pandemic has caused significant delays in processing of trademark applications;

• The average wait time for initial review has grown to about five months; and

• The entire prosecution process has reached a wait time of almost eleven months.

For more information on trademark prosecution services, see our Trademark Services and Industry Focused Legal Solutions pages.