TTAB's 'Selective' Approach Spurs Drop in Precedents

Intellectual Property attorney Thomas Brooke was quoted in a Law360 article covering the decrease in precedential decisions issued by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows 30 such decisions in fiscal year 2024 and 13 in 2025, compared to an average of 40 per year between 2019 and 2023. TTAB leadership attributed the decrease to having fewer administrative judges to manage a growing case docket but stated its criteria for designating decisions precedential remains unchanged. Mr. Brooke commented that the trademark bar has wanted more precedential decisions from TTAB for years, citing colleagues' complaints at industry gatherings expressing frustration at the decrease in roadmap decisions and dissatisfaction with the explanations given for certain rulings. He pointed to an April 29, 2026, precedential decision – the board's most recent – as an example of what practitioners want to see.

"One of the frustrations with the trademark office has always been that it's hard to pin them down on things," he said. "One examining attorney is not bound by the decision of another, and in fact, even the same examining attorney can say one thing for one application and something else for another application...Without a lot of guidance as to why they decide the way they do, it's harder to make a decent argument."

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