Trademark Opposition Attorney

A trademark opposition is a formal challenge filed at the TTAB within 30 days after a trademark application is published in the USPTO Official Gazette, or within an extension of that period (no more than 180 days from publication). Any party who believes they would be damaged by the registration of the mark can file a notice of opposition. The proceeding follows a formal schedule with pleadings, discovery, testimony periods, and final briefs.

The standard opposition window is 30 days from the date of publication in the USPTO Official Gazette. A first extension request may be for 30 days, granted on request, or for 90 days, granted only for good cause. After an initial 30-day extension, one further 60-day extension may be granted for good cause. After extensions totaling 90 days, one final 60-day extension requires the applicant's written consent or stipulation, or a showing of extraordinary circumstances. Each request must be filed before the current deadline expires, and the opposition period cannot be extended beyond 180 days from publication. Extensions give you time to evaluate the conflict and negotiate without committing to a full proceeding. If no opposition is filed by the last deadline, a use-based or Section 44 application is registered and an intent-to-use application receives a notice of allowance; once the mark is registered, a challenge before the TTAB takes the form of a petition to cancel under 15 U.S.C. § 1064.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1063(a), any person who believes they would be damaged by a registration may file an opposition with the USPTO within thirty days after publication, stating the grounds. Grounds include the refusals listed in 15 U.S.C. § 1052, such as a likelihood of confusion with a registered mark or a mark previously used in the United States and not abandoned, a mark that is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the goods, or a mark that is primarily merely a surname. Each ground must be pleaded in the notice of opposition and proven through the record.

A TTAB cancellation proceeding is a formal challenge to an existing trademark registration. A petition to cancel may be filed by any person who believes they are or will be damaged by the registration (15 U.S.C. § 1064). A petition based on likelihood of confusion with a mark previously used in the United States by another and not abandoned (15 U.S.C. § 1052(d)) must be filed within five years from the date of registration (15 U.S.C. § 1064(1)). Grounds such as genericness, abandonment, and fraudulent procurement may be raised at any time (15 U.S.C. § 1064(3)), and so may the ground that the mark has never been used in commerce for some or all of the registered goods or services, once three years have passed since registration (15 U.S.C. § 1064(6)). In a cancellation, as in an opposition, the challenger is in the position of plaintiff (37 C.F.R. § 2.116(b)).

For fiscal year 2026, the USPTO reported that TTAB trial cases, which include oppositions, took an average of 152.7 weeks (median 135.6 weeks) from commencement to completion; those figures exclude decisions issued as precedents, considered for issuance as such, or with anomalous prosecution histories. We recommend considering a settlement, such as a consent or coexistence agreement, when both parties have legitimate interests in their respective marks.

A coexistence agreement is a written agreement between two trademark owners allowing both to use their marks in the marketplace under defined conditions. Common terms include geographic restrictions, class or product-line restrictions, required distinctions in stylization or branding, and notification obligations if one party expands. The USPTO gives significant weight to consent agreements when evaluating likelihood of confusion in an application.

If you receive a notice of opposition and do not file an answer within the time the TTAB set, the opposition may be decided as in case of default. A judgment against you in the opposition results in refusal of registration of your application. The application filing fee is not refunded. We recommend responding to an opposition, even when the grounds seem weak.

Yes. The Canadian Trademarks Act provides an opposition process for trademark applications filed with the CIPO. After an application is approved for advertisement, any person can file a statement of opposition within two months of the advertisement date. Canadian opposition proceedings are handled through a licensed Canadian trademark agent.

The timing is the key difference. An opposition challenges a trademark application before it registers, during the 30-day publication window. A cancellation challenges a trademark registration after it has issued. Both proceedings take place at the TTAB, follow similar procedural rules, and can result in the mark being refused or cancelled. Opposition is generally less costly because it happens earlier in the lifecycle of the mark.

As of November 3, 2026, the USPTO fee for an electronically filed notice of opposition or petition to cancel is US$600 per class. I quote a range at the start and provide status updates at each phase.