"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), is the federal agency responsible for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks." About Us, U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off. (last visited Apr. 6, 2025). The USPTO is established within the Department of Commerce and is granted statutory authority according to 35 U.S.C. § 2. The USPTO is also responsible for advising "the president of the United States, the secretary of commerce, and U.S. government agencies on intellectual property (IP) policy, protection, and enforcement[.]"  About Us, U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off. (last visited Apr. 6, 2025). The USPTO's website provides tools for trademark education, federal trademark searches, and federal trademark registration. Trademarks, U.S. Pat & Trademark Off. (last visited Apr. 6, 2025). 

Guidance for trademark registration proceedings are available in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R) at 37 C.F.R. § 1 et seq. However, a more in-depth view of the trademark registration process is available via the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TEMP) (Nov. 2024). 

The USPTO is also responsible for promulgating rules related to patent and trademark registration. Proposed regulations can be found via Regulations.gov by searching "Patent and Trademark Office" or by visiting the USPTO website for a list of recently proposed and final rules. Laws Regulations, U.S Pat. & Trademark Off. (last visited Apr. 6, 2025). 

Regulations for trademark registration and T.T.A.B. procedure can be found via 37 C.F.R. § 1 et seq. A breakdown with links to specific sections is provided below. 

• 37 C.F.R. Part 2, Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases
• 37 C.F.R. Part 6, Classification of Goods and Services Under the Trademark Act
• 37 C.F.R. Part 7, Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.
• 37 C.F.R. Part 11, Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office

The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (T.T.A.B.) is an administrative tribunal created under the Lanham Act. 15 U.S.C. § 1067. The T.T.A.B. has the authority to decide registration rights among adverse parties "[i]n every case of interference, opposition to registration, application to register as a lawful concurrent user, or application to cancel the registration of a mark[.]" Id. § 1067(a). These proceedings are referred to as an "inter partes" review. 3 J. McCarthy, Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 20:1 (5th ed). Additionally, if a party wishes to appeal a decision of a trademark examiner, that party may appeal to the T.T.A.B. for an "ex parte" review. Id. § 21:1.

Proceedings before the T.T.A.B. are governed by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP). 

Decisions by the T.T.A.B. may be searched on both Westlaw and Lexis; however, be careful about performing these searches as not all decisions of the T.T.A.B. have precedential authority. 

To search only for precedential decisions, use the T.T.A.B. reading room provided by the USPTO or the Lexis Database of T.T.A.B. Precedential decisions.

T.T.A.B. decisions may also have a preclusive effect in later suits. For further research, consult Elizabeth D. Lauzon, Annotation, Preclusive Effect of Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's Finding in Later Lanham Act Sui, 91 A.L.R. Fed. 2d Art. 561 (2015). Available via Westlaw.