You have the option of filing a trademark appeal with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) when the examining attorney issues a final refusal to federally register your mark. For example, let’s say you file a trademark application and the examining attorney sends you a trademark office action refusing registration of your trademark on the basis that there’s a likelihood of confusion with another mark that’s already registered. In order to attempt to overcome the rejection, you research, prepare, and submit arguments and evidence to the examining attorney pointing out all of the differences between the two marks and detailing why your trademark application should be approved. A few weeks later, you receive a final office action from the examining attorney indicating that he did not find your arguments persuasive and that he’s now making his refusal to register your trademark final.
