Trademark Filings 2009 Report

Trademark filings in the United States Patent & Trademark Office through the first half of 2009 fell nearly 20 percent (to roughly 120,000) compared to the same period last year. Some sectors of the economy are feeling more pain, and businesses in those sections are similarly much less likely to be filing new trademark applications.

Applications are way down in areas such as financial services and luxury goods (for example, watches and perfumes). Applications for pharmaceutical products fared much better and were up by 5 percent. The significant drop in trademark applications does not mean that registering a business’ trademark assets has become any less important. Businesses are wisely being more selective about the marks they are choosing to protect. A trademark attorney can help your business evaluate whether you should apply for federal registration of your trademark.