Trademark Opposition

Trademark opposition refers to when a party believes the registration of a mark will harm them. Therefore, they file a Notice of Opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to prevent the registration.

The most common reason a party files a Notice of Opposition is because the party believes the mark is too similar to a trademark already in use by the party. Therefore, the party believes registration of the new mark will cause damage to them.

A trademark opposition culminates in a hearing before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which is a board assembled by the Patent and Trademark Office for the purpose of reviewing trademark-related cases. The Board reviews evidence presented by both parties to render a decision on if the new mark may be registered.

Typically, a party should engage a trademark attorney when filing an opposition to a trademark or defending a trademark against which another party has filed an opposition, since either can be a complicated matter.