USPTO Trademark Status Meanings in TSDR

Q: Live vs. Dead

Every record is ultimately Live or Dead. Live means the application or registration is still active in the system and can pose a conflict. Dead means it was abandoned, cancelled, or expired. A dead record is generally lower risk — but remember a dead federal record can still be a live common-law mark if the owner kept using it, so dead is a reason to investigate, not to relax.

Q: Abandoned statuses

An application goes Abandoned when the applicant fails to respond to an office action or to file a required document on time, or files an express abandonment. Abandonment can sometimes be revived by petition if the failure was unintentional and caught quickly.

Q: Reading status in context

A status is a snapshot; the prosecution history right below it is the story. To understand why a mark reached its current status, open the documents and read the office actions and responses. And to watch a status change over time, see how to track an application through its full lifecycle.

When you open a trademark in TSDR, the single most important field is its status — a short phrase that captures the mark's entire legal position at that moment. But those phrases are only useful if you know what they mean and what each one requires. Here is a plain-language guide to the statuses you will actually encounter and what to do at each stage.

Live vs. Dead

Every record is ultimately Live or Dead. Live means the application or registration is still active in the system and can pose a conflict. Dead means it was abandoned, cancelled, or expired. A dead record is generally lower risk — but remember a dead federal record can still be a live common-law mark if the owner kept using it, so dead is a reason to investigate, not to relax.

Pending statuses (during examination)

New Application — Awaiting Examination: filed but not yet assigned to an examining attorney.
Live/Pending: under examination and moving through the process.
Non-Final Action Mailed: the examining attorney issued an office action raising an objection; the applicant must respond, generally within three months (extendable once) for applications since December 2022.
Final Refusal Mailed: the objection was maintained; the applicant must appeal or overcome it.
Suspended: examination is paused, often waiting on an earlier-filed conflicting application to resolve.

Publication and allowance

Published for Opposition: the mark cleared examination and appears in the Official Gazette for a 30-day window in which third parties may oppose.
Notice of Allowance Issued: for intent-to-use applications, the mark cleared opposition but is not yet registered; the applicant must file a Statement of Use showing the mark in commerce.

Registered and post-registration statuses

Registered: the mark issued and is enforceable. Maintenance now applies.
Registered — Sec. 8 & 15 Accepted: the owner filed the required declaration of continued use (Section 8) and an incontestability declaration (Section 15).
Cancelled or Expired: the registration lapsed, usually for failure to file a Section 8 declaration or a Section 9 renewal.

Abandoned statuses

An application goes Abandoned when the applicant fails to respond to an office action or to file a required document on time, or files an express abandonment. Abandonment can sometimes be revived by petition if the failure was unintentional and caught quickly.

Reading status in context

A status is a snapshot; the prosecution history right below it is the story. To understand why a mark reached its current status, open the documents and read the office actions and responses. And to watch a status change over time, see how to track an application through its full lifecycle.