If you believe your business could be damaged by the registration of a new trademark on the Principal Register, you normally have thirty (30) days after publication in the Official Gazette to take action. This means that if you don’t object to the trademark within this time, it becomes a registered trademark.

Weekly trademark monitoring provides you with immediate notice of any “confusingly similar” trademark applications. Since this is well within the opposition period afforded each trademark owner, you (and your attorney, on your behalf) have the opportunity to make a formal objection to the Examiner before the end of the period.

By opposing a trademark while it is still in the application stage, you avoid becoming entrenched in a costly and time-consuming trademark infringement suit. Since it is generally a lesser burden of proof to challenge the application during the prosecution stage, it is in your best interest to intervene before a trademark is registered.