Big announcement! The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO“) will begin issuing electronic registration certificates for all trademark applications filed from today onward.

What does this mean for you?: If you apply for a new trademark, the USPTO will provide your registration certificate digitally, rather than on paper, when the mark registers. However, if you want to have a nice, embossed, certificate for your wall – you can order one for $24.00.

Why is this change occurring?: You can read the official “company line” from the USPTO here. However, if I were to read the tea leaves – *reads leaves* – I would say the change is occurring for the following reasons: 1) The USPTO is mega-backed-up right now. Electronic certificates will be “one less thing” for the USPTO to mail, and will (fingers crossed) speed processing times; 2) The USPTO, mega-back-up notwithstanding, is about to embark on tectonic changes to how the trademark registration system works via implementation of the Trademark Modernization Act (more info here). The move to electronic certificates dovetails nicely with the rest of the changes the TMA is going to make (very real!) in December 2022.

How can I print my own certificate?: Yes ma’am you can! You can print your own certificate right now too – just follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://tmsearch.uspto.gov
  2. Click “Basic Wordmark Search”
  3. Search for your trademark by typing in the “literal element” (the word(s) part of the mark) into the search box
  4. Find your trademark registration in the list that comes up after clicking “Submit Query”
  5. Once on the screen showing all the nitty-gritty details about your trademark registration is on your screen click the blue button near the top left of the screen that says “TSDR”
  6. Give the system a hot second
  7. On the TSDR screen, click the “Documents” tab
  8. Click the link in the list that says “Registration Certificate”
  9. Print or download as PDF!

Thanks for reading this post. Keep a look out for more exciting trademark news from OG+S as the Trademark Modernization Act is implemented!