LexHow we rank trademark prosecution.
Six performance signals drawn from the USPTO TM Bulk Data record. The same discipline as patent prosecution, adapted to TTAB practice.
2026 FinalLast updated Apr 30, 2026
Trademark prosecution rankings emphasize survival, not just submission. The Trademark Office issues an Office Action on over half of all applications — the firms that consistently navigate through to registration without unnecessary narrowing are the ones worth measuring.
Every signal traces back to USPTO TM Bulk Data, the open-data feed published quarterly by the Trademark Office. We process the full pipeline from intent-to-use through registration, including extensions, opposition exposure, and abandonment patterns.
The 2026 edition is the first published trademark ranking. 2.9M concluded applications across the 5-year window form the analytical base.
Six signals. Six weights.
Survival, efficiency, and breadth, normalized within practice cohort.
Application volume
Total trademark applications filed and concluded within the window. Used as the entry threshold.
Registration rate
Concluded-to-registered ratio. The strongest single signal of effective TM prosecution. Normalized for goods/services class mix.
Office action navigation
Frequency of first-action allowance vs. need to overcome a refusal. Reflects pre-filing diligence and clearance work.
Pendency efficiency
Average filing-to-registration timeline, adjusted for class complexity and intent-to-use vs. use-based filings.
Opposition exposure
Rate of applications opposed at TTAB and the firm’s win rate as applicant. A clearance-quality proxy.
Extension activity
Statement-of-use extension frequency. High extension activity can signal weak commercial-use readiness.
How the math works.
Every signal is normalized within a peer cohort, then weighted into a composite score.
Cohort-relative percentiles, not absolute counts
Within each ranking, firms and attorneys are grouped into four practice-size brackets (5–25, 25–75, 75–200, 200+ attorneys). Inside each cohort, every signal is converted to a percentile rank.
This is why a 30-attorney specialty boutique can outrank a global AmLaw firm on the same signal — volume alone doesn’t win the comparison.
Weighted blend, capped at 100
Each signal’s percentile is multiplied by its weight, then summed. Final scores are rescaled to a 0–100 range so cross-cohort comparison is meaningful.
Worked example: (0.78 × 25) + (0.71 × 15) + …
What’s included.
- Firms with at least 100 concluded applications in the window
- All TM classes (1–45), nice-classification basis
- Intent-to-use (1(b)) and use-based (1(a)) applications
- 44(d), 44(e), and Madrid Protocol (66(a)) US designations
- All correspondence-of-record firms tracked
What we don’t measure.
- TTAB cancellation work (separate signal under TTAB practice)
- Foreign trademark prosecution outside US
- Reputation, surveys, or peer rankings
- Pure clearance work without filing activity
- Common-law mark enforcement strategy
What changed — and when.
Methodology changes are dated and archived. The 2026 Final edition remains accessible exactly as published.