Trademark Attorneys in United States

Practical Guide to IP in United States

The United States is the highest-value trademark jurisdiction for most international brand owners, and the majority of the U.S. professionals in this directory are trademark specialists. Filings are handled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Foreign counsel routinely instruct U.S. attorneys for national trademark filings, for Madrid designations entering the U.S., and for office-action responses, which are frequently substantive.

A structural point foreign counsel must know: the USPTO requires foreign-domiciled applicants to be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney for trademark matters. This is not optional — an applicant based outside the United States cannot prosecute a trademark application pro se and must appoint qualified U.S. counsel. This single rule is the reason a reliable U.S. associate is indispensable for inbound trademark work.

U.S. trademark practice is use-based in character, which distinguishes it sharply from most register-based systems. Applications can be filed on an intent-to-use or use basis, and maintaining a registration requires periodic declarations of continued use with specimens. Foreign filers accustomed to pure registration systems frequently underestimate the evidentiary and use requirements, making local guidance essential.

On the patent side, the USPTO handles national applications and PCT national-phase entries. U.S. patent prosecution has its own distinctive doctrines — including duty of disclosure obligations — that make experienced local counsel valuable for anything beyond routine filing.

For brand owners entering multiple markets, the U.S. is usually filed nationally rather than via Madrid, because Madrid designations into the U.S. carry practical limitations that experienced U.S. counsel will explain.

Verify before publish: current status and exact wording of the U.S. counsel requirement for foreign-domiciled trademark applicants; maintenance/renewal declaration intervals; specimen requirements; any recent USPTO rule changes on foreign representation.