Service detailsA USPTO letter of protest is a filing that lets a third party submit evidence to the Trademark Office showing that a pending trademark application should be refused. It is authorized by 15 U.S.C. § 1051(f) and 37 C.F.R. § 2.149, costs $50 in government fees, and can be filed any time before the mark publishes for opposition — or within 30 days after publication, under a stricter standard. If the evidence is accepted, it goes into the application file and in front of the examining attorney, who decides independently whether to refuse. That makes it the cheapest point of intervention in the trademark system. An opposition is a full adversarial proceeding — pleadings, discovery, testimony, briefing — and is priced accordingly. A letter of protest is a curated evidence file and a one-page index: same target, a fraction of the cost, landing months earlier while the examiner is still deciding. We prepare and file them for a fixed $1,750 per application, plus the USPTO fee at cost. 
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USPTO Letter of Protest — Stop a Bad Trademark Before It Registers
Attorney-prepared evidence submissions under 15 U.S.C. § 1051(f) that put the case against a pending application in front of the examining attorney — months before an opposition would cost you five figures.
Direct answer: A USPTO letter of protest is a filing that lets a third party submit evidence showing that a pending trademark application should be refused. It is authorized by 15 U.S.C. § 1051(f) and 37 C.F.R. § 2.149, carries a $50 government fee, and may be filed any time before the mark publishes for opposition — or within 30 days after publication under a stricter standard. If the evidence is accepted, it goes into the application file and in front of the examining attorney, who decides independently whether to refuse. AMZ Sellers Attorney® prepares and files letters of protest for a fixed fee of $1,750 per application, plus USPTO filing fees at cost.
Someone filed on your brand.
A hijacker, ex-supplier, or competitor is trying to register the mark you actually use.
A rival is claiming a common term.
Registration of a descriptive or generic category word becomes a takedown weapon against your listings.
The specimen looks fabricated.
Mock-up labels and listings created solely to manufacture a specimen — a heavily scrutinized category.
Live human intake by trained paralegals 24/7/365. Send the serial number and we will tell you which filing window you are in before you engage us.
What Is a USPTO Letter of Protest?
Kenneth G. Eade explains the procedure under 15 U.S.C. § 1051(f) and 37 C.F.R. § 2.149 — the two filing windows, the grounds the evidence has to carry, and why most self-filed protests fail on execution rather than merit.
What the video covers:
- What a letter of protest is and what statute authorizes it
- The two filing windows — and why the post-publication 30-day window is materially harder
- The grounds: likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, fabricated specimens, no bona fide use
- Why it is an evidence-only filing and argument gets the submission rejected
- Letter of protest versus a TTAB opposition — cost, timing, and party status
- What the procedure will not do, and the options once a mark has registered
Prefer to read it? The same material is set out in How the Letter of Protest Procedure Actually Works and the FAQ below.
Fixed Fee: $1,750 Per Application
Fixed attorney fee, per application. Plus USPTO filing fees at cost — currently $50 per application.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney fee — letter of protest | $1,750 | Fixed, per application. Covers all six steps below. |
| USPTO filing fee | $50 | Per application. Billed at cost. Set by the USPTO and subject to change. |
| Additional applications, same evidence file | Quoted | Reduced per-application rate where one applicant filed multiple related applications. |
Not included: notices of opposition, extensions of time to oppose, TTAB proceedings, expungement or reexamination petitions, and civil litigation — each quoted separately. If a protest is the wrong tool for your facts, we will tell you before you engage us.
Two Filing Windows — and Why the Earlier One Is Worth Far More
| Window | Deadline | Evidentiary standard |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-publication | Any time before the mark publishes for opposition | Evidence must be relevant to a ground for refusal. Practical, workable standard. |
| Post-publication | 30 days from the publication date. No extensions. | Evidence must establish a prima facie case for refusal — publication without it was clear error. Materially harder. |
The single most common call we get is a seller who watched a competitor's application sail through examination, then phoned on day 29 after publication. If you are monitoring a hijacker, an ex-supplier, or a term you use descriptively, the moment to move is while the application still sits with the examining attorney.
The Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy determines whether to accept the evidence and is required to act within two months of the filing.
Grounds We Build Letters of Protest On
- Likelihood of confusion with your prior registration or earlier-filed application under Section 2(d).
- Mere descriptiveness or genericness — the applicant is trying to lock up a term the market already uses generically.
- Fraudulent or digitally altered specimens — mock-ups, edited labels, listings created solely to manufacture a specimen.
- No bona fide use in commerce or no bona fide intent to use, supported by marketplace and archived web evidence.
- Deceptive or deceptively misdescriptive matter, geographic misdescriptiveness, or false suggestion of a connection.
- Pending civil litigation or a TTAB proceeding involving the same mark and the same parties.
- Improper use of the federal registration symbol, or another party's registered mark appearing inside the applicant's own specimen.
The rules effectively cap the submission at about ten evidentiary items per ground absent good cause. That constraint is a feature. A tight, indexed ten-item record beats a hundred pages of everything you could find — and choosing which ten is the part self-filers most often get wrong.
Why This Matters If You Sell Online
On Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, eBay and TikTok Shop, a federal registration is not just a legal asset — it is an enforcement key. Registration on the Principal Register unlocks Brand Registry, and Brand Registry unlocks the IP complaints that take listings down.
That is exactly why bad-faith applicants file on descriptive terms, category words, and marks they do not own. Once the mark registers, the leverage has already shifted: you are answering takedowns, filing counter-notices, and paying for a cancellation proceeding you could have prevented for the cost of a good evidence file.
A letter of protest is the intervention that happens before that shift. For a seller watching a competitor's application move through examination, it is the highest-return $1,750 in the trademark system.
Related: Trademark Registration · Brand Registry Lawyers · TTAB Attorneys · Trademark Opposition · Trademark Cancellation · Hijacker Removal
What the Fixed Fee Covers
Target review and timing analysis
We pull the application file, confirm status and publication posture, and tell you which window you are in and what standard applies.
Ground selection
We identify the ground or grounds the evidence can actually carry — and tell you candidly if it cannot.
Evidence investigation
Registry records, marketplace listings and archives, dictionary and industry usage, specimen forensics, trade and media sources, and litigation dockets where applicable.
Index and statement drafting
The itemized index and the concise, objective relevance statement for each item — drafted to survive the acceptance review, not to persuade.
Filing and docketing
Electronic submission through the USPTO letter of protest form, with the two-month determination window docketed and reported to you.
Outcome briefing
A short written report on the determination and your realistic next options — standing down, extending time to oppose, or preparing a notice of opposition.
How the Letter of Protest Procedure Actually Works
These are the questions rights owners ask before they call — answered from how these filings actually resolve at the USPTO, not from a generic checklist. Tap a question to expand it.
Why most self-filed protests fail on execution, not merit
A letter of protest is an evidence-only filing. The submission is limited to an itemized index, the exhibits themselves, and a concise objective statement of how each item is relevant to a ground for refusal. Argue the case and the submission gets rejected. Bury the examiner in a hundred pages and the good exhibits disappear into the noise. The discipline is not finding evidence — it is selecting and framing it so the examining attorney sees the problem without being told what to think.
- Argument and characterization are grounds for rejection
- Roughly ten items per ground absent good cause
- The relevance statement must be objective, not persuasive
- Drafting discipline matters more than evidence volume
Why the filing is ex parte — and what the examiner actually sees
Examination stays ex parte by design. If the evidence is accepted, the examining attorney receives the evidence alone — not your letter, not your identity, not your view of what it proves. You get no right to reply, no hearing, and no appeal from the determination. That is the tradeoff for a $50 government fee and no party status: you get one clean shot at putting the record in front of the decision-maker.
- The examiner sees evidence, not the protestor
- No reply, no hearing, no appeal from the determination
- The filing itself is public in the application record on TSDR
- The examiner decides independently whether to refuse
Letter of protest vs. opposition — and why filing one does not waive the other
An opposition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is a full adversarial proceeding: pleadings, discovery, testimony, briefing — priced accordingly. A letter of protest is a curated evidence file and a one-page index. Same target, a fraction of the cost, and it lands months earlier while the examining attorney is still deciding. Filing one does not waive your right to oppose, which is why we routinely file the protest and docket the publication date in parallel.
- Protest: ex parte, $50 government fee, no party status
- Opposition: inter partes, discovery and testimony, far higher cost
- Filing a protest preserves the right to oppose later
- We docket the publication date as a backstop either way
What a letter of protest will not do
We would rather set expectations than sell an outcome the procedure cannot deliver. A protest does not suspend or delay prosecution. Acceptance of your evidence is not a refusal — the examining attorney is free to review it and approve the mark anyway. And evidence placed in the application file is not automatically admitted, authenticated evidence in a later TTAB proceeding; it must still be properly introduced there.
- Does not suspend prosecution of the application
- Acceptance is not a refusal
- Not anonymous — the submission is in the public record
- Not automatically admissible in a later TTAB case
What to do when the mark has already registered
The letter of protest procedure closes at registration. After that, the options are ex parte expungement or reexamination under the Trademark Modernization Act, a petition to cancel before the TTAB, or a civil action — and which is available depends on the grounds and the age of the registration. All of them cost more than the protest you could have filed during examination.
- Expungement and reexamination are non-use based, ex parte
- Cancellation is inter partes before the TTAB
- Timing windows are statutory and unforgiving
General information about USPTO procedure, not legal advice for any specific case. Timelines and outcomes vary by matter; past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Letter of Protest vs. the Alternatives
| Tool | Timing | Nature | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of protest | Before publication, or within 30 days after | Ex parte evidence submission; no party status | Lowest |
| Notice of opposition (TTAB) | Within 30 days of publication, extendable | Inter partes: pleadings, discovery, testimony, briefing | High |
| Expungement / reexamination | Post-registration, statutory windows | Ex parte, non-use based | Moderate |
| Petition to cancel | Post-registration | Inter partes before the TTAB | High |
Attorney-Prepared, Not Template-Filed
Michael S. Brandt
USPTO-registered patent and trademark attorney (Reg. No. 39119), admitted in Washington and California. Quoted by name in Bloomberg Law's June 2026 investigation of Amazon's APEX program.
Kenneth G. Eade
California attorney practicing since 1980, former seven-figure Amazon FBA seller and current KDP author, with an independent Wikipedia entry documenting his legal career and authorship.
AMZ Sellers Attorney® is a Beverly Hills e-commerce and IP firm founded in 2017, working at the intersection of marketplace enforcement and trademark practice across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop and KDP. About the firm →
Letter of Protest FAQ
What is a USPTO letter of protest?
A letter of protest is a procedure that lets a third party give the USPTO evidence relevant to whether a pending trademark application should be refused. It is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1051(f) and implemented by 37 C.F.R. § 2.149. If the evidence is accepted, it is placed in the application file and forwarded to the examining attorney, who decides independently whether to issue a refusal.
When can a letter of protest be filed?
There are two windows. Before publication, a letter of protest may be filed at any time and the evidence only needs to be relevant to a ground for refusal. After publication, it must be filed within 30 days of the publication date and meets a stricter standard: the evidence must establish a prima facie case for refusal, so that publication without it would have been clear error. The 30-day post-publication deadline cannot be extended.
How much does a letter of protest cost?
AMZ Sellers Attorney® charges a fixed attorney fee of $1,750 per application. The USPTO letter of protest filing fee is $50 per application and is billed at cost. USPTO fees are set by the agency and are subject to change.
Can I include legal argument in a letter of protest?
No. A letter of protest is an evidence-only filing. The submission is limited to an itemized index of the evidence, the evidence itself, and a concise objective statement of how each item is relevant to a ground for refusal. Argument, characterization and advocacy are grounds for rejection of the submission, which is why the drafting discipline matters more than the volume of evidence.
Will the applicant find out who filed the letter of protest?
A letter of protest is not an anonymous filing. The submission and the USPTO determination become part of the public application record and can be viewed in TSDR. The examining attorney, however, receives only the accepted evidence, without the identity of the protestor and without any characterization of the evidence, so that examination remains ex parte.
Does filing a letter of protest stop the application?
No. It does not suspend prosecution and it does not guarantee a refusal. Acceptance of the evidence means only that the examining attorney will see it. The examining attorney independently decides whether the evidence supports a refusal. A letter of protest is best understood as a low-cost chance to put decisive evidence in front of the examiner early, not as a substitute for an opposition.
What is the difference between a letter of protest and an opposition?
A letter of protest is an ex parte evidence submission handled by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, costs $50 in USPTO fees, and gives the protestor no party status and no right to be heard. An opposition is an inter partes proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board with pleadings, discovery, testimony and briefing, and typically costs many multiples of a letter of protest. Filing a letter of protest does not waive the right to oppose later.
Can a letter of protest be filed after a mark registers?
No. Once a mark registers, the letter of protest procedure is no longer available. Post-registration options include ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings under the Trademark Modernization Act, a petition to cancel before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or a civil action, depending on the grounds and the age of the registration.
Primary Sources
- Lanham Act § 1(f) — Letters of Protest: Cornell LII — 15 U.S.C. § 1051
- Trademark Rule 2.149 — Letter of Protest Practice: eCFR — 37 C.F.R. Part 2
- TMEP § 1715 — Letter of Protest Procedure: uspto.gov — Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
- USPTO Trademark Fee Schedule: uspto.gov — current fees
- TSDR — Trademark Status & Document Retrieval: tsdr.uspto.gov
- Lanham Act § 32 — Trademark Infringement: Cornell LII — 15 U.S.C. § 1114
- USPTO Registered Practitioner Search: oedci.uspto.gov
Send Us the Serial Number
Give us the application serial number and one sentence on why it should not register. We will tell you which filing window you are in, whether the evidence can carry a ground, and whether a letter of protest is the right move — before you engage us.
AMZ Sellers Attorney® · 9350 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 203, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 · [email protected]
Attorney Advertising. This page provides general information about USPTO procedure and does not constitute legal advice for any specific situation. No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement is signed. Outcomes depend on the facts of each matter; past results do not guarantee future outcomes. USPTO fees are set by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and are subject to change.
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AMZ Sellers Attorney®
9350 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 203
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(Virtual office / mailing address)
Kenneth Eade, Esq. (licensed CA)
Michael S. Brandt, Esq. (licensed WA, CA, USPTO)
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Attorney Advertising. This website is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement is signed.