The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is an administrative tribunal within the
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...
(USPTO). The TTAB is empowered to determine the right to register a trademark. It has no authority to determine the right to use one, nor broader questions of infringement, unfair competition, damages or injunctive relief. The TTAB decides ''
ex parte
In law, ''ex parte'' () is a Latin term meaning literally "from/out of the party/faction of" (name of party/faction, often omitted), thus signifying "on behalf of (name)". An ''ex parte'' decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all ...
'' appeals from decisions by USPTO Examiners denying registration of marks, and inter partes proceedings challenging the registration of marks. Decisions of the TTAB may be appealed to a
United States district court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...
, or to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal cou ...
.
Practices and procedures for litigating before the TTAB are governed by the Trademark Rules of Practice and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP) is a manual published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for use by litigants before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TT ...
(TBMP) is an important guide to practice before the TTAB.
Judges of the TTAB
The Administrative Trademark Judges of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) are appointed by the
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
in consultation with the director of the USPTO. Each appeal and adversarial proceeding is heard and decided by at least three judges of the TTAB. There are currently twenty-five judges sitting at the TTAB (as of September 2022), as follows:
See also
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Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals
*
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP) is a manual published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for use by litigants before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TT ...
*
Trademarks Opposition Board
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. ...
, the equivalent body in Canada
References
External links
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The TTABlog – ''Keeping Tabs on the TTAB''(Blog by John L. Welch, a Harvard-educated intellectual property attorney and frequent lecturer on TTAB practices and procedures)
{{Authority control
United States trademark law
Article I tribunals
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing