TTAB Procedure: Oppositions, Cancellations & Appeals Explained

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is the administrative tribunal within the USPTO that decides trademark disputes. It does not award damages or stop anyone from using a mark — its power is over registration: whether a mark should be registered, or whether an existing registration should be cancelled. Understanding the three main types of TTAB proceedings is essential to trademark practice.

Oppositions

When a mark clears examination, it is published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day window. During that window, any party who believes it would be damaged by the registration can file an opposition asking the TTAB to refuse it. The most common ground is likelihood of confusion with the opposer's own mark. An opposition is an inter partes proceeding — a dispute between two parties, with pleadings, discovery, and briefing.

Cancellations

A cancellation targets a mark that is already registered. A party who is harmed by an existing registration can petition the TTAB to cancel it — for example, because the mark has been abandoned, was never used, or causes a likelihood of confusion. Grounds available in a cancellation can narrow after the mark becomes incontestable (generally five years after registration).

Ex parte appeals

The third proceeding is different: an ex parte appeal involves only the applicant and the USPTO. If an examining attorney issues a final refusal in an office action, the applicant can appeal that refusal to the TTAB, which reviews whether the refusal was correct.

How TTAB proceedings are filed

All TTAB filings go through ESTTA, the Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals. Inter partes proceedings loosely follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with pleadings, discovery, and trial by submitted evidence rather than live testimony.

TTAB vs. federal court

The key limit to remember: the TTAB decides registrability, not infringement. It cannot enjoin use of a mark or award money — for that, a party must go to federal court. Many disputes are fought in both forums. The TTAB is where trademark rights are contested at the registration level, and a core topic in the Wysebridge trademark guide.