Trademarks delivers faster service and smarter tools
Cue the confetti! Trademarks hit every mark in fiscal year (FY) 2026: a landmark year of faster service, smarter tools. America’s Branding Agency, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, exceeded all FY 2026 goals while increasing strong examination quality.
Thanks to the extraordinary work and dedication of our employees, we’re four for four on our pendency and quality goals. Average first action pendency came in at 4.1 months, almost an entire month ahead of our 5.0-month goal. That momentum carried through to disposal: 9.5 months on average, more than a month ahead of our 11.0-month goal. Both quality measures surpassed their targets, too. To sum it up, first-action pendency is down by 26%, while maintaining the quality of our examination products.
And there’s more to cheer about. We reduced our unexamined application inventory by 12%, from 346,378 to 305,978, helping support shorter wait times for examination.
Our successes this year go beyond the numbers:
- We committed to super intelligence (SI) by launching tools like Class ACT, image searching, and the Trademark Center mark description generator.
- We expanded name, image, and likeness outreach, reaching thousands of athletes, creators, and others building personal brands.
- We strengthened efforts to combat scams and fraud, including removing 14,000 invalid trademark applications and registrations to keep the trademark register reliable and trusted for legitimate brand owners.
These accomplishments give us momentum for FY 2027 and the know-how to continue delivering timely, high-quality examination and a trademark register you can trust. Your thoughtful applications, timely responses, and continued engagement help us make that progress possible. We look forward to another year of moving brands forward. To our applicants, stakeholders, and intellectual property professionals, thank you for helping us achieve these results.
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