At the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark examining attorneys are tasked with reviewing trademark applications to ensure that they are in good form and that the applied-for mark is eligible for federal trademark registration. Examiners are guided in their review by several policies including the Lanham Act, the federal statute governing trademark law in the United States (15 U.S.C. Section 1051 et. seq.), and the USPTO’s Trademark Rules of Practice and Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure or TMEP, among others.

Not every name or mark is eligible for federal trademark registration with the USPTO. There are a large number of applications that examiners must reject because the application does not conform to one or more conditions set forth in the Lanham Act or TMEP.