Alt Legal is excited to announce the release of §2(d) Trademark Watch, the latest addition to its suite of software for IP professionals. §2(d) Trademark Watch complements Alt Legal’s core IP docketing software by extracting data embedded in tens of thousands of newly-issued office actions and providing valuable insight to trademark practitioners.
Alt Legal’s §2(d) Trademark Watch is a novel, automated service that tracks potential infringement in the earliest stages of the trademark application process. It fills a gap in the trademark monitoring process by notifying attorneys when a confusingly similar trademark application has been identified by a trademark examiner. Traditional watch services often do not notify attorneys until the confusingly similar application has been approved for publication.
When a new trademark application is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark examiner assigned to the mark will review all registered trademarks and pending applications to determine whether the applied-for mark is “confusingly similar” to any registrations or applications. If the examiner finds any “confusingly similar” registrations or applications, the examiner notifies the applicant but not the owner of the original trademark or their counsel. This means that the existing trademark owner may never learn that someone has applied for a similar trademark. Alt Legal’s §2(d) Trademark Watch ensures that existing trademark owners are made aware of these potentially infringing applications by reviewing and categorizing thousands of USPTO office actions and sending alerts when their trademarks are cited in a “likelihood of confusion” or “prior pending application” refusal.
Although §2(d) Trademark Watch is available as a standalone service, current Alt Legal customers receive additional benefits from §2(d) Trademark Watch. All of their docketed marks and newly filed trademarks are automatically tracked for mentions in office actions citing §2(d). Alt Legal is the only IP docketing software that combines docketing with §2(d) watch, resulting in powerful insight for prosecuting, defending, and enforcing trademarks.
Alt Legal CEO Nehal Madhani said, “Our company takes a modern, innovative approach to IP docketing. We strive to increase efficiency and provide more value to our customers by simplifying trademark prosecution. I’m excited to share our latest innovation with IP professionals and am thrilled about the positive feedback we’ve heard from customers: they’re excited to see the new business our §2(d) Trademark Watch opens for them.”