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For trademark attorneys

You’ve been assigned an examiner. Here’s what to expect.

Refusal rates, outcomes, and timing for the USPTO’s active trademark examining corps.

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Examiner profiles

Behavioral profiles for 900+ active trademark examining attorneys.

Pick your stage, from assignment to a Final, and see how your examiner compares with the corps.

crystalmark.app/exampleLive example
Law Office M70·Active·Examining since 1991

A senior examiner

19,979 applications analyzed·last OA Oct 24, 2026

18.4%−5.8pp vs corpsSubstantive refusalLast 2 yrsn=3,091 examinedThe base is every examined app, approvals included; substantive grounds only.41%−1.2pp vs corpsEscalates to Finaln=2,767 merits-resolved refusalsMerits-resolved = ended Final or approved; abandons with no response on file sit out.61.9%−2.0pp vs corpsWithdrawn when contestedn=2,974 contested refusalsOf contested refusals that have resolved, the share that reached approval. A refusal can go to Final and still come off, so this and "Escalates to Final" do not add to 100.
Difficulty 7 out of 10,more difficult than 60% of active examiners7/10
7/10Medium
DifficultyHow hard a refusal from this examiner is to overcome, ranked 1 to 10 against active examiners. Weighted toward post-refusal behavior; refusal frequency counts least.
Why 7/10? ▾

Winnability vs the active examining corps: how hard to overcome once refused.

Holds after a response · 35% of score

Once refused, how often they push it to a Final rather than withdraw.

near corps (−0.2σ)

Won't withdraw post-Final · 25% of score

When applicants answer a Final §2(d), how rarely the refusal comes off.

above corps (+0.6σ)

Refusal rate (basis-adjusted) · 20% of score

Refuses more than expected for their filing-basis mix.

near corps (+0.0σ)

Sticks through TTAB appeal · 12% of score

When an applicant pursues a TTAB appeal, how often the refusal sticks.

well above corps (+1.6σ)

Grinds extra rounds · 8% of score

More office-action rounds to reach resolution.

near corps (−0.1σ)

Weights renormalized over available signals.
Decile across active examiners, n≥30.

More difficult than 60% of active examiners.

Refusal groundsBase = apps with classified refusal grounds. Mechanical requirements (specimens, disclaimers, IDs) are excluded.
Independent rates, don't sum to 100%
66%§2(d) confusioncorps 64% · +2pp
30%Descriptive, surname & geo §2(e)corps 30% · ±1pp
10%Other substantivecorps 14% · −4pp

Cites two or more grounds at once on 6% of ground-classified apps.

Filing → first office actionRound-1 apps only; transfers sit out. Corps median 159 days in the same window.
Median · last 2 yrs · mostly queue time
149 days~ 4.9 months

−10 days vs corps

Examiner’s amendmentsCorps 30% in the same 2-yr window.
Share of interventions where an amendment could work · last 2 yrs
29%± 1pp vs corps

346 of 1,174 amendment-eligible interventions

Refusal rate by classA multi-class app counts in each of its classes. Ground shares don't sum to 100%. Rates publish at 25+ examined in the class, shares at 10+ classified refusals; thinner cells show –.
Colored vs the corps in the same class
ClassRefusalShare of examined apps in this class that drew a substantive refusal.§2(d)Of this class's ground-classified refused apps, the share citing §2(d).§2(e)Of this class's ground-classified refused apps, the share citing §2(e).OtherOf this class's ground-classified refused apps, the share citing Other.
Electronics & software · 009 · n=3,03827%71%28%6%
Advertising & business services · 035 · n=2,74531%67%35%4%
Education & entertainment · 041 · n=2,66328%64%37%6%
Clothing & footwear · 025 · n=2,23335%67%11%32%
Science & technology (software) · 042 · n=1,84527%67%37%4%
Insurance & financial services · 036 · n=1,07632%67%36%2%
Cosmetics & cleaning · 003 · n=97729%78%20%6%
Paper & printed matter · 016 · n=97328%53%28%25%
Pharmaceuticals · 005 · n=89227%76%27%5%
Toys, games & sporting goods · 028 · n=85022%79%19%7%
All 48 classes ▾
Household utensils & glassware · 021 · n=73521%67%22%14%
Staple foods & bakery · 030 · n=70332%64%37%8%
Medical & beauty services · 044 · n=68230%68%38%3%
Food & drink services · 043 · n=66930%71%29%4%
Medical apparatus · 010 · n=55224%76%27%4%
Appliances (lighting/heating) · 011 · n=54223%74%23%7%
Construction & repair · 037 · n=51031%72%32%3%
Legal & security services · 045 · n=50324%64%36%6%
Furniture · 020 · n=50023%68%30%4%
Meats, dairy & processed foods · 029 · n=42334%62%41%11%
Machines & machine tools · 007 · n=41523%76%33%6%
Leather goods & luggage · 018 · n=38729%71%17%16%
Jewelry & watches · 014 · n=37527%66%21%22%
Beers & non-alcoholic drinks · 032 · n=37523%81%19%11%
Vehicles · 012 · n=37426%74%26%5%
Telecommunications · 038 · n=36328%75%29%2%
Wines & spirits · 033 · n=36233%64%27%16%
Chemicals · 001 · n=29326%60%36%11%
Transport & storage · 039 · n=28133%67%41%4%
Treatment of materials · 040 · n=27532%68%37%6%
Agricultural & natural products · 031 · n=26435%56%38%27%
Fabrics & textiles · 024 · n=21924%75%24%10%
Metal goods & hardware · 006 · n=21426%73%24%4%
Hand tools · 008 · n=20024%74%15%13%
Non-metal building materials · 019 · n=17927%54%48%8%
Tobacco & smokers' articles · 034 · n=14329%76%24%0%
Lace, ribbons & notions · 026 · n=12216%74%21%11%
Lubricants & fuels · 004 · n=12024%75%25%14%
Rubber & plastics · 017 · n=11122%61%39%9%
Paints & coatings · 002 · n=8324%55%35%10%
Carpets & floor coverings · 027 · n=7519%50%50%7%
Cordage & raw textiles · 022 · n=5917%90%10%0%
Firearms & fireworks · 013 · n=5238%67%56%6%
Musical instruments · 015 · n=3826%–––
Unclassified · B · n=3231%40%80%0%
Unclassified · A · n=16––––
Yarns & threads · 023 · n=15––––
Class 200 · 200 · n=9––––

Refusal shading is green below the corps and red above it. Ground shading is neutral: depth marks distance from the typical examiner in that class, ▲ above and ▼ below.

Refusal rate by year
Substantive refusals · per-year n · last 5 complete years

The read: easing, gently: down about 4 points from 2021 to 2025.

15%25%35%2021n=13292022n=14302023n=13642024n=14862025n=1486corps 28.2% · since 2007, drawn flat
Fine print · complements & timing

Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · Built on the public USPTO record

How every figure is computed →
Open the full profile

Docketing

Automated docketing for your pending trademark applications.

Connect with the email on your USPTO filings and every pending application lands on your docket. Response windows and Statement of Use deadlines run on their statutory clocks, with the examiner's record one click away. When an examiner is assigned or something on a case moves, you get an email, and the calendar feed puts every deadline in Outlook or Google Calendar.

crystalmark.app/docket

Your docket

Monday, October 26 · 6 applications tracked

  • ~Nov 4
    in 9 days
    HALCYON HARBOR
    Law Office 112
    8/10Difficulty 8/10: more difficult than 70% of active examiners
  • ~Nov 23
    in 28 days
    PENNANT & PROOF
    Law Office 104
    3/10Difficulty 3/10: more difficult than 20% of active examiners
  • ~Dec 3
    in 38 days
    QUILLFEATHER
    Law Office 121
    4/10Difficulty 4/10: more difficult than 30% of active examiners
  • WREN HOLLOW
    Law Office 108
    9/10Difficulty 9/10: more difficult than 80% of active examiners
  • MERIDIAN OAK
    Law Office 116
    2/10Difficulty 2/10: more difficult than 10% of active examiners
  • COPPER KILN
    Law Office 102
    7/10Difficulty 7/10: more difficult than 60% of active examiners

How these dates are counted

Illustrative rows. The live docket lists your real applications and names the examiner where these rows show a Law Office.

Trademark watch

A citation watch on your registrations and the ones cited against you.

A §2(d) citation is only as strong as the registration behind it, and the register keeps moving.

Your registrations

Every registration filed under your name is watched, new ones as they issue. When an examiner cites one in a §2(d) refusal of someone else's application, the citing case links its full story. If that application is later published for opposition, the alert lands while the window to oppose is open.

BRIARFIELD · cited your registration · published for opposition

The marks cited against you

The registrations cited against your applications are watched too. When one is cancelled or expired while your refusal sits, your docket email says so, and the docket row it blocks shows it dead.

TALLOW & THREAD · cited on your Final · cancelled or expired

The §2(d) detail report

How often your citations have been overcome.

On your examiner's profile, enter the reg numbers off your refusal. We return the read from our corpus. Your case never needs to be in our system.

Hours of TSDR digging, in one screen.

Cited registrations · the example examiner's most cited

PARENT'S CHOICEReg. 3,493,778Cited 16× · 8 applications, all from 1 applicant2 of 8 cited applications overcame the §2(d)

6 gave up; examiner maintained the refusal on 8 of 8

ALPHA WHITEReg. 2,940,376Cited 9× · 3 applications · 2 applicants3 of 3 cited applications overcame the §2(d)

examiner maintained the refusal on 3 before relenting

THE OLD FARMER'S ALMANACReg. 895,070Cited 8× · 4 applications, all from 1 applicant0 of 4 cited applications overcame the §2(d)

all 4 abandoned after the examiner maintained the refusal

The full leaderboard is live. Open it on the example profile →

TTAB record

What happens when you appeal a refusal to the TTAB.

Everyone quotes the same folklore number. Counted from the notice of appeal, the record reads differently.

~90%

the folklore: §2(d) refusals affirmed on appeal.

True, but only of appeals the Board decided.

15%

of resolved appeals ever reach a Board merits decision.

The rest resolve with no ruling on the merits.

64%

of resolved appeals end with the refusal coming off.

Usually the examiner withdrawing the refusal, at a median 2 months vs ~10 to a decision.

Read the brief →

Every appeal, case by caseThe TTAB record
MERIDIAN OAK§2(d)
Refusal withdrawn3.0 mo
WREN HOLLOW§2(d)
Pending–
COPPER KILN§2(d)
Reversed11.0 mo
ATLAS & IVY
Affirmed10.0 mo

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