Basic discovery
Search marks and navigate matching federal records.
Trademark Search
USPTO Trademark Search: Discovery, Filters and the Difference From TSDR
USPTO Trademark Search is the current federal trademark search system. It replaced TESS in November 2023 and supports both straightforward discovery and more advanced querying. For a specific record, TSDR remains the record-level status/document system.
Trademark research path
- 1Discover candidate marks
- 2Check case identifiers
- 3Verify with TSDR
Data company workflowNormalize / qualify / verify / deliver
On this page
Direct answer
Trademark Search finds records; TSDR verifies the individual case context
The current USPTO Trademark Search system is designed to search federal trademark applications and registrations. USPTO retired TESS on November 30, 2023. Search can locate and filter records; TSDR provides detailed status and documents for a known serial or registration number.
Search capabilities relevant to research
Advanced / expert querying
Use the system’s more advanced syntax and field options for complex research.
Live/dead filtering
Narrow records by broad lifecycle state.
Export features
Export supported result/history data for research, while recognizing that raw exports still need qualification for a professional dataset.
Trademark Search vs TSDR
Trademark Search
Best suited to discovery, query-driven record finding and broad result filtering.
TSDR
Best suited to the current status, documents and record-level lifecycle detail for a specific identifier.
Trademark-Leads.com
Uses official sources as inputs, then adds qualification, normalization, provenance, deduplication and delivery rules for a commercial dataset.
Take the next step: verify the discovered case
Trademark Search is for discovering candidate records. For known serial or registration numbers, TSDR supplies official case status, documents and available images.
TSDR vs USPTO Trademark Search
See how discovery and case verification fit together in one research workflow.
Learn more →TSDR API Documentation
Learn how to retrieve supported case details programmatically.
Learn more →Additional context
USPTO’s search environment is capable enough that a data company should not pretend the value lies in having a search box. The commercial value begins after discovery: defining a cohort, applying consistent field logic, checking time-sensitive status, separating representation roles, controlling duplicates and delivering a reproducible structure.
The search system also matters for SEO terminology. Users may still search for “TESS,” “USPTO database,” “trademark lookup,” or “dead trademark search.” Current educational content should acknowledge those phrases but direct readers to the current Trademark Search system rather than describing TESS as an active tool.
Common questions
What replaced TESS?
USPTO’s current cloud-based Trademark Search system replaced TESS; TESS was retired on November 30, 2023.
Is Trademark Search the same as TSDR?
No. Trademark Search is primarily for discovering applications/registrations; TSDR is for status and documents tied to a specific serial or registration number.
Can search results be used as leads?
They can be raw inputs, but a professional lead dataset normally needs additional qualification, freshness checks, role interpretation and deduplication.
Search is a discovery surface, not a complete data contract
Search results help locate relevant federal trademark records, but a professional dataset must decide which record-level fields determine inclusion, how dates are interpreted, whether representation/contact data is required, how duplicates are handled and when the result was verified.
For one-off research, that additional modeling can happen manually. For bulk work, the same decisions should become explicit qualification rules so the output is repeatable rather than dependent on an analyst remembering an informal search process.
From search query to qualified dataset
| Stage | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Discovery query | Finds a candidate universe using search terms or supported search dimensions. |
| Record binding | Associates each candidate with a stable serial/registration identifier. |
| Record verification | Checks the relevant current status/events and supporting source context. |
| Qualification | Applies the business filters that define the actual dataset. |
| Delivery | Normalizes columns, provenance and duplicate rules for downstream use. |
Need a qualified result set instead of a raw search export?
Describe the cohort and output fields you need.