Trademark monitoring: catching conflicting filings while you can still stop them
TL;DR
- Trademark monitoring watches trademark registers for new applications that use your brand name or a near miss, so you can object while the office still allows it.
- At the USPTO, a letter of protest ($150) can be filed before publication or up to 30 days after it, and an opposition ($600 per class) is due 30 days after publication, extendable to 180 days in total.
- Takedown watches US (USPTO) applications and registrations that are, contain or are one letter off your brand name, in your goods classes, alongside its marketplace, store, social and ad monitoring, from $500 a month.
- Next step: ask for the free 360° report, which includes the US filings using your name.
Trademark monitoring, also called a trademark watch, is a recurring search of trademark registers for applications and registrations that could conflict with a brand's marks: the same name, a variant, or one close enough to cause confusion in related goods. It is different from a clearance search, which checks a name once before you file, and from enforcement against products, which happens on marketplaces and websites. Its value is timing: once a conflicting mark registers, removing it means a cancellation proceeding instead of an objection.
The USPTO's windows, and what each one costs
An application is examined, then published in the Official Gazette, then registered if nobody opposes it. What you can do depends on where it is:
| Stage | What you can file | Deadline | Fee (USPTO schedule, read 16 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before publication | Letter of protest: evidence the examiner should refuse the mark, such as your earlier registration | Any time before publication | $150 |
| After publication | Letter of protest | No later than 30 days after publication | $150 |
| After publication | Notice of opposition at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board | 30 days after publication | $600 per class |
| Extending the opposition deadline | First extension of 30 days (granted as of right) or 90 days (good cause) | Before the current deadline | $0 for the first 30 days; $200 for a 90-day or second 60-day extension |
| After registration | Petition to cancel | $600 per class |
Extensions cannot run past 180 days from publication. After a first 30-day extension you can ask for 60 more days for good cause, and a final 60 days only with the applicant's consent or in extraordinary circumstances (37 CFR 2.102). A letter of protest is limited to 10 items of evidence and 75 pages, and the protester is not a party and is not told why the examiner decided as they did (37 CFR 2.149).
An opposition is a legal proceeding. Takedown finds and flags the filings; whether to protest or oppose is a question for your trademark attorney, and we say when a filing looks like one.
What Takedown watches
- Office: the USPTO, through its trademark search.
- Filings: live applications and registrations whose word mark is your brand name, contains it, or is one letter off it.
- Classes: lookalikes are kept only in your own goods classes; exact matches are kept in any class.
- Your own marks: filings whose serial or registration number is on your IP documents, or whose owner is your company, are left out.
- First: the exact matches and the filings from the last year in your classes, the ones still open to a letter of protest or an opposition.
Each finding links to the filing's record in the USPTO's status system, with the owner, filing date, status and classes. A person checks it before it reaches you, alongside the marketplace listings, copycat stores and accounts the same scan finds.
Why a US filing matters to a brand selling online
A registered mark in someone else's name for your brand name can block your Amazon Brand Registry enrolment, because Brand Registry enrols a brand on the trademark registration behind it. It can also give a copycat seller a registration to point to. Catching the application while it is pending is cheaper than cancelling it after it registers.
Summary
Summary
| Trademark monitoring with Takedown | |
|---|---|
| Office | USPTO |
| What we find | Applications and registrations that are, contain or are one letter off your name, in your goods classes |
| Who checks | A person on our team |
| Windows to act | Letter of protest before publication or within 30 days after; opposition 30 days after publication, extendable to 180 |
| Also included | Marketplace listings, copycat stores, lookalike domains, social accounts and ads |
| What it costs | From $500 a month, month to month, quoted with the free 360° report |
Frequently asked questions
What is a trademark watch?
A recurring search of trademark registers for new filings that could conflict with your marks, so you can object before they register.
How long do I have to oppose a US trademark application?
30 days from publication in the Official Gazette. You can extend that, first by 30 days as of right or 90 days for good cause, but never beyond 180 days from publication.
What does a letter of protest cost?
$150 at the USPTO. It can be filed before publication or up to 30 days after it, with up to 10 items of evidence.
Do you watch the EUIPO or UKIPO?
Our watch covers US (USPTO) filings. For EU and UK registers, Corsearch sells clearance and watch services, and Brand Protector watches the EUIPO.
Sources, checked 16 October 2026
Hand it over
Want someone to find the copies and file the reports for you?
Takedown scans for copycat stores, lookalike domains, marketplace listings, impersonating social accounts and conflicting US trademark filings, a person checks every match, and nothing is filed until you approve it. Start with a free 360° report on your brand.
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