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Live/Dead Status - Important in Trademark Clearance Searches
Importance of the live and dead status of a trademark filing, especially for trademark searches
The TESS database (Trademark Electronic Search System) designates each record as live or
dead.
Generally, the designation of live means the record is active, which can mean two things: 1) the record is a pending application which has not been approved or rejected yet; or 2) the record is
an active trademark registration, after approval of a trademark application.
Usually, the designation of dead means the record is inactive. A record which is designated
as dead is inactive for two common reasons: 1) the record is an application which was rejected
and no longer active (although in some instances can be revived); or 2) the record is of a
trademark which was once a registered mark but then the registration was abandoned, usually for lack of maintenance fees/document renewals.
The ability to parse out records which are live or dead, easily, is important because this allows the searcher to look at more relevant records because a dead record is less relevant than a live record.
A way to only view one or the other, for instance only live records, is with the use of the search field of live/dead, which is represented in a Free Form search field of [LD]. This technique is
frequently done by others, especially Trademark Examiners, in their clearance search in the
approval process, as seen in examples of Trademark Examiners searches in the application review
process.
In the below explanation, the term of, record, and filing, are used interchangeably.
How many filings are designated as dead in TESS after recently filed trademark applications
Between January 1, 2023 and May 1, 2023, 273 trademark applications with a filing date of 2023 have been designated dead.
Between January 1, 2023 and May 1, 2023, there were a total of 172,234 trademark applications filed. Of these applications, the dead records totaled less than 1% of the filed applications, representing 0.2% of total filings.
Data accessed 5/12/2023
How many filings are designated as a dead record compared to the total filings in the past ten years
Trademark applications with the filing dates of the past ten years were accessed on May 12, 2023*.
In total, there were 4,762,829 trademark applications filed between 2013 and 2022. Of the trademark applications filed, 1,789,066 or 38%, are currently designated dead.
2022
Dead Records - 21,475
Total Records - 546,911
2021
Dead Records - 162,980
Total Records - 671,124
2020
Dead Records - 208,823
Total Records - 665,057
2019
Dead Records - 184,427
Total Records - 497,796
2018
Dead Records - 178,613
Total Records - 472,057
2017
Dead Records - 171,733
Total Records - 452,799
2016
Dead Records - 163,849
Total Records - 401,634
2015
Dead Records - 230,151
Total Records - 380,286
2014
Dead Records - 236,782
Total Records - 346,969
2013
Dead Records - 230,233
Total Records - 328,196
*The access date is important to note, as the status of filings can change and daily updates are made in TESS. Hence, a later search for the same information may yield different data.
With four months of 2023 applications yielding only 273 dead records, the number may seem substantially less than the dead records of the previous years accessed. However, application status and trademark status can change, and over time, the number of dead records does increase because of application rejection or inactivity reasons.
How was this data found?
This data was found before the change in the TESS search system before Nov. 2023 (the change was made Nov. 2023). At the end of this section is the updated version of the searches which would be performed in the TESS search system after the update.
The data for the filings designated as a dead record in TESS compared to the total filings from January 1, 2023 to May 1, 2023 was found with the following searches in TESS Free Form
`FD > 20230101 < 20230501 AND DEAD[LD] – indicating the dead records
`FD > 20230101 < 20230501 – indicating the total records from January 1, 2023 – May 1, 2023
The data for the filings designated as a dead record in TESS compared to the total filings in the past ten years was found with the following searches in TESS Free Form
2022$[FD]
2022$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2021$[FD]
2021$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2020$[FD]
2020$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2019$[FD]
2019$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2018$[FD]
2018$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2017$[FD]
2017$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2016$[FD]
2016$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2015$[FD]
2015$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2014$[FD]
2014$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
2013$[FD]
2013$[FD] AND DEAD[LD]
(Update in Feb. 2024: The data was found before the change in the TESS trademark search system.)
The new searches would be:
FD:[2023-01-01 TO 2023-05-01] AND LD:false – indicating the dead records
FD:[2023-01-01 TO 2023-05-01] – indicating the total records from January 1, 2023 – May 1, 2023
And each year after with this format:
FD:[2022-01-01 TO 2022-12-31]
FD:[2022-01-01 TO 2022-12-31] AND LD:false
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