SpotsworthSomeone just filed a name like yours.
You'd want to know while the opposition window is still open. Spotsworth and his dog, Spot, check every new US trademark filing against your mark and email you the match and the deadline.
The window is 30 days. Most owners never hear about it.
App developers
Someone files a name one letter off yours in class 9 — software. It shows up in the Gazette, and the 30-day window starts whether you saw it or not.
Amazon sellers
A new application lands in your product class with a mark that sounds like yours. You find out when the window is open, not months after it closed.
Shopify & DTC brands
A lookalike filing for the same goods you sell. We send one email with what matched, why, and the date the window closes.
Add your mark
Type it the way it's registered and pick your classes. Takes a minute.
Spotsworth reads every filing
Each day's new applications and each Tuesday's Gazette are compared against your mark — spelling, sound and shared words.
You get the deadline
Anything close lands in your inbox with how it resembles yours and when the opposition window closes.
One email per match, with the date that matters.
Spelled differently but sounds the same. Both cover downloadable mobile apps.
We describe how a filing resembles your mark and when its window closes. What to do about it is your call — or your attorney's.
Good to know
I haven't registered my name. Is watching still useful?
Often, yes. In the US, using a name in business can give you rights in it even without a federal registration. These are usually called common-law rights, and they generally cover the places where you actually use the name. If someone later applies to register a similar name for similar goods or services, someone who used their name first can oppose that application, but only while the opposition window is open. Spotsworth watches new applications and tells you when a similar one is filed and when its window opens. Whether your own use gives you rights, and how strong they are, is a question for a trademark attorney.
What's the difference between a new filing and a published one?
A new filing is only a request: someone has applied, and nobody at the USPTO has reviewed it yet. An examining attorney looks at it, usually months later, and can refuse it. If it's approved, it's published in the Official Gazette, and that starts a 30-day opposition window. If no one opposes, it moves on towards registration. Spotsworth emails you when a similar application is filed, and again when it's published, with the date the window closes.
What is an opposition?
A proceeding at the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, filed by someone who believes a newly published mark would harm theirs. It has to be filed, or more time requested, within 30 days of publication. Spotsworth tells you the date; it doesn't file anything or tell you whether to.
Which filings do you check?
Every new application in the USPTO's daily data, compared with your mark in your classes, plus identical or nearly identical names in any class. When you add a mark, we also check the last 90 days of applications and every publication still open for opposition. We compare the words in a mark; logos without words aren't covered yet.
Is Spotsworth a law firm?
No. Spotsworth is not a law firm and doesn't give legal advice. We describe how a filing resembles your mark and state the deadlines. A trademark attorney can tell you whether and how to act.