When a US Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO) examining attorney has reviewed and approved your trademark application, they release your request for the mark to the public. This step begins a thirty-day period within which anyone can oppose the registration of your mark. This public listing appears in the Original Gazette which is available online.

You have thirty days as the applicant of a trademark registration application to respond to a Notice of Opposition. When you respond to your opposer’s claims, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board(TTAB) will schedule a legal proceeding, like a mini-trial, to hear both sides of the complaint.

We recommend you hire a professional trademark service or a trademark attorney to build a legal defense, file proper court documents, and respond to any court motions. The TTAB has legal requirements and strict deadlines for any responses to a Notice of Opposition.

The USPTO sends you a Notice of Default if you do not respond to a Notice of Opposition and the TTAB will rule for the opposer. This judgment binds you from any future applications for the trademark under review. You can sometimes file a motion to lift a default ruling.