Some trademark statistics

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System ("TESS"), there are a total (as of May 11, 2006 at 4:16 PM) of 2,385,842 registered trademarks, of which 1,290,000 are active.

That's a lot of trademarks.  And those are just the ones registered with the USPTO.  There are many more trademarks registered with the states, and many many more unregistered.

So you still think you have a unique name that no one else is using.  Look at the numbers and think again.  Without performing a trademark search, you run the risk of adopting a trademark that is confusingly similar with one or more pre-existing trademark.

Consider these numbers also:

• During the work week, the USPTO receives approximately 900 to 1,000 trademark applications per day.  On weekends, they get about 100 applications per day


• 
  The USPTO has received the following number of applications in the following years:
  
  
  
  • 2005 - 263,126
  
  
  • 2004 - 250,252
  
  
  • 2003 - 224,754
  
  
  • 2002 - 214,143
  
  
  • 2001 - 218,134
  
  
  • 2000 - 285,775
  
  
  • 1999 - 263,838
  
  
  • 1998 - 198,650
  
  
  
  


• 
  The USPTO has received the following number of applications in the following months of 2006:
  
  
  
  • January - 20,823
  
  
  • February - 21,771
  
  
  • March - 26,130
  
  
  • April - 21,532
  
  
  
  

Tags: trademark, trademark search, search, USPTO, statistics, filings, registered trademarks