What a huge surge in trademark filings means for applicants
Guest blog by David Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks
We are continuing to explore the reasons behind the surge, but we do know that the increase comes from both foreign and domestic filings and is caused in part by an increase in e-commerce during the pandemic. For our customers, the bottom line is that applications are coming in faster than we have historically been able to examine them, and the backlog is increasing. We are keenly aware of this challenge and have taken steps to increase productivity, while maintaining the high quality our applicants expect.
For example, we’re implementing information technology solutions and system enhancements to process applications even faster. In addition, we've hired more examining attorneys and staff, we're finding better ways to distribute the workload among our current attorneys and staff, and we’re looking at every step in the examination process to find ways to increase efficiency. Through these and other actions, we will eventually bring our processing times back to customary levels.
If you have questions about this issue, or suggestions for us to consider, we welcome your feedback at TMFeedback@uspto.gov.
Posted at 09:17AM Jun 23, 2021 in trademarks | Comments[4]
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