Overview
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) runs both patents and trademarks. For a cross-border seller the trademark side is the weekly tool: search the federal register in Trademark Search, file in Trademark Center, then take the serial or registration number into Amazon Brand Registry. The old Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) was retired on 30 November 2023. Bookmarks to tess2.uspto.gov redirect to tmsearch.uspto.gov. The official landing page is uspto.gov/trademarks/search.
This is not an agency and not Amazon support. Search is free. New applications have been filed in Trademark Center since 18 January 2025; many maintenance and renewal forms still sit in TEAS. Official fees are per international class and are generally not refunded. A clean search is not permission to use the name: common-law use, state registrations, and Amazon-catalog conflicts sit outside the federal database. Applicants domiciled outside the United States must be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney (rule in force since 2019).
Private-label sellers treat USPTO trademarks as the Brand Registry gate. Class 021 drinkware, 025 apparel, and 003 personal care have to match what you actually sell. Pure arbitrage sellers often skip filing, but they should still scan for conflicting marks before running ads on a brand-like title.
Core features and advantages
Trademark Search (replaces TESS)
The cloud Trademark Search system has basic and advanced modes: word mark, goods and services, owner, serial number, mark description, plus field tags (TESS syntax such as [wm] became forms like WM:). The database includes pending, live, and dead records. A seller’s minimum pass is exact text + the relevant class + phonetic/spelling variants, including dead marks that may still block you. USPTO publishes a TESS-to-new-syntax handout. Signing in with a USPTO.gov account is more stable under load. Results are not a clearance opinion, and the Trademark Assistance Center will not run a likelihood-of-confusion search for you.
Trademark Center, TEAS, and TSDR
From 18 January 2025, new applications are filed and paid in Trademark Center. Maintenance, renewals, and many later papers remain on TEAS / TEASi. Status and documents live in TSDR — not the retired TARR system. You need a USPTO.gov account and identity verification before filing. Amazon Brand Registry sends a confirmation code to the email of record on the USPTO application, so tell your attorney who must receive that message. The USPTO warns constantly about fake renewal and “monitoring” invoices; staff will not ask you to pay a third-party address.
Nice classes and the ID Manual
Fees are per class. A printed mug may sit in 021; custom printing services are another class — two classes, two official fees. Trademark Center pushes you to pick identifications from the Trademark ID Manual; free-form text draws surcharges. Design marks also need the Design Search Code Manual. Typical seller mistakes: a ambitious brand name paired with classes you do not sell, or a goods description that reads “retail on Amazon,” which examining attorneys refuse.
Supported platforms
A USPTO trademark is a U.S. federal right. It does not automatically cover the EU, the UK, or Japan. Amazon.com Brand Registry accepts a pending or registered USPTO mark (confirm the live list in Brand Registry). The same U.S. filing is usually not enough to enroll Amazon.de or Amazon.co.jp — those stores want EUIPO or JPO rights. Nothing syncs into Seller Central; you paste the serial number yourself. State trademarks and unregistered use generally do not qualify for Brand Registry.
Who it's for
- Solo / small teams who need A+ Content, Sponsored Brands, and hijacker control: search, file, then enroll Brand Registry with the serial number.
- Mid-size brands managing multi-class portfolios, watching new filings, and keeping Section 8/9 maintenance on calendar.
- Foreign-domiciled sellers who must hire a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney rather than filing Trademark Center themselves.
- Skip it if you only arbitrage other brands, or if you already filed the same USPTO application through Amazon IP Accelerator (same official register, different law-firm channel).
Concrete use case: once the brand name is locked, run Trademark Search on the exact string plus the target class (for example 021 for housewares), variants, and dead marks. If nothing obvious blocks you, have counsel file from the ID Manual. Fees are per class and usually non-refundable, so a wrong class costs more than an extra hour of search. When the serial number appears in TSDR, enroll Brand Registry and make sure the attorney inbox can receive Amazon’s code.
Pricing and value
Search is free. Filing is per class. Since 18 January 2025 the base official fee for a Section 1 or 44 electronic application is $350 per class (the old TEAS Plus $250 / TEAS Standard $350 split is gone). Extra official fees, from USPTO’s trademark fee page (checked 2026-09-06):
- Insufficient information: $100 per class
- Free-form identification instead of the ID Manual: $200 per class
- Each extra 1,000 characters in that free-form box: $200 per class
- Statement of use / amendment to allege use after a 1(b) filing: $150 per class
- Extension of time to file a statement of use: $125 per class
- Five-year declaration of use (Section 8): $325 per class
- Combined 10-year renewal (Sections 8 and 9): $650 per class
Official fees are generally not refunded. Attorney fees for foreign applicants are extra. For a U.S. private-label brand, $350 a class is cheap next to a hijacked listing; unused classes and free-form IDs are how the bill grows. Confirm live amounts on trademark fee information and the fee schedule.
Community feedback
On r/FulfillmentByAmazon and r/AmazonSeller, a USPTO mark is the default Brand Registry path. Threads in 2026 agree you do not have to use Amazon IP Accelerator: a direct USPTO pending application can enroll, provided it is genuine and searchable; Amazon emails the code to the USPTO record. Sellers also warn that if USPTO later refuses the mark, Brand Registry can be pulled — so do not search exact matches only. After TESS died, Boolean habits had to be relearned. The usual complaints are pendency, identity verification, and fake renewal notices, not the $350 fee. Trademark Assistance Center (TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov, 800-786-9199 option 1) answers process questions only. It will not search, opine on registrability, or draft office-action responses.
Competitive positioning
USPTO is the authoritative U.S. federal register and filing door. One EUIPO EUTM covers 27 member states, not the UK. JPO / J-PlatPat is the Japan-store path, including Japanese pronunciation search. Commercial screens such as iP51 are faster for a first pass; they do not replace tmsearch.uspto.gov and cannot file a U.S. application. Amazon Brand Registry is a platform program; the legal right still sits at the USPTO. National EU offices cover one country, which is a different net from a U.S. federal registration.
Alternatives
- European Union Intellectual Property Office — file an EUTM when Brand Registry is for Amazon EU, not Amazon.com.
- Japan Patent Office — JPO / J-PlatPat for Amazon.co.jp.
- iP51 trademark search — a commercial multi-country screen; the U.S. official database remains Trademark Search.
Limitations
Federal search does not capture all unregistered use or every state registration. A search is not legal advice. Examination can take many months; fees are usually kept. Foreign-domiciled applicants must use a U.S. attorney. Trademark Center and TEAS split work — filing in the wrong system costs time. Identity verification is painful for some foreign passports. Scam invoices are common. A granted U.S. trademark does not automatically win every Amazon hijacker dispute.
Verdict
For a U.S. private-label brand, run Trademark Search, file per class in Trademark Center, then enroll Brand Registry from the TSDR serial number. If you only resell other people’s brands, stop at search. EU and Japan stores need those offices.
Next step: open Trademark Search, search the name in the target class, complete identity verification if you will file, then use Trademark Center against the current fee page. Foreign-domiciled sellers should instruct a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney.
Data notes
Rechecked 2026-09-06 against the USPTO trademark search page, tmsearch.uspto.gov, Trademark Center guidance, the trademark fee page ($350 per class base plus surcharges), and the TESS retirement notice. published (2024-03-15), monthlyVisits, domainRating, and authorityScore are catalog placeholders and unverified. USPTO as an institution predates this catalog date. Pendency, refusal rates, and attorney fees are case-specific. Brand Registry acceptance rules should be confirmed in Amazon’s current portal.