1601.01    Registrations Now Being Issued

Currently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues registrations only under the Trademark Act of 1946, as Amended, 15 U.S.C. §§1051  et seq. These are either Principal Register registrations or Supplemental Register registrations.  See TMEP §801.02(a) regarding the Principal Register and §801.02(b) regarding the Supplemental Register.

1601.01(a)    Certificate of Registration

On May 24, 2022, the USPTO began issuing electronic registration certificates for all registrations resulting from applications based on §§1, 44, and 66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1126, 1141f(a). See USPTO To Accelerate Transition To Issuance of Electronic Trademark Registration Certificates; Issuing Next Certificates on May 24, 2022 at 87 Fed. Reg. 31533 (May 24, 2022). On that date, the electronic registration certificate became the official registration certificate.

The registration certificate includes the owner’s name and address, the mark, the goods/services/collective membership organization, and the class(es). The certificate is issued under the electronic signature of the Director and with a digital seal, which authenticates the registration. 15 U.S.C. §§1057(a), 1093; 37 C.F.R. §2.151. The USPTO uploads the electronic registration certificate to the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval database. Trademark owners can view, download, and print a complete copy of the registration certificate at no charge at any time.

1601.01(b)    Presentation Copy of Registration Certificate

Trademark owners can order a one-page, condensed, printed copy of the issued registration that is suitable for framing. This document, known as a "presentation" copy, is printed on heavy paper; features a gold foil seal; identifies the owner(s); indicates the trademark; and specifies the classes of goods and/or services, but does not list the goods and services. Presentation copies are not registration certificates or certified copies of the trademark registration. See USPTO to Begin Issuing Electronic Trademark Registration Certificates at 87 Fed. Reg. 25623 (May 2, 2022). Trademark owners who filed an initial application on or after May 24, 2022 can order a presentation copy of their registration, for a fee, through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). Trademark owners who filed an initial application before May 24, 2022 can order one presentation copy for free. Id.

See TMEP §111 regarding obtaining a certified copy of the registration from the Patent and Trademark Copy Fulfillment Branch of the USPTO for a fee.

1601.01(c)    Registered Extension of Protection of International Registration to the United States

Effective November 2, 2003, §66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1141f(a), permits the holder of an international registration to file a request for extension of protection of the international registration to the United States.   See TMEP §§1904-1904.15(c).

Unless the request for extension of protection is refused under §68 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1141h,  the USPTO will issue a certificate of extension of protection and publish notice of such certificate in the Trademark Official Gazette.  Section 69(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1141i(a).  The certificate of registration will look the same as the certificates issued for registrations resulting from applications based on §§1 and 44 of the Act.  From the date of issuance of the certificate, the extension of protection has the same effect and validity as a registration on the Principal Register, and the holder of the international registration has the same rights and remedies as the owner of a registration on the Principal Register. 15 U.S.C. §1141i(b).

Under §66(b), 15 U.S.C. §1141f(b),  unless the extension of protection is refused, the proper filing of the request for extension of protection constitutes constructive use of the mark, conferring the same rights as those specified in §7(c) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1057(c),  as of the earliest of the following:

  • (1) The international registration date, if the request for extension of protection was made in the international application;
  • (2) The date of recordal of the subsequent designation requesting an extension of protection to the United States, if the request for extension of protection to the United States was made in a subsequent designation; or
  • (3) The date of priority claimed pursuant to §67 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C.  §1141g.

Upon registration, the USPTO will refer to an extension of protection to the United States as a "registration" or a "registered extension of protection."  37 C.F.R. §7.25(c).

A registered extension of protection remains part of the international registration after registration in the United States.  See 15 U.S.C. §1141j,  37 C.F.R. §7.30, and TMEP §1904.08 for information about the dependence of the extension of protection on the underlying international registration.  In this respect, the registered extension of protection differs from a registration issuing from a §44 application, which exists independent of the underlying foreign registration, pursuant to §44(f), 15 U.S.C.  §1126(f).

See TMEP §1609.01(a) regarding amendment of registered extensions of protection under §7 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C.  §1057.