What to expect from our new trademark search system (and why we’re replacing TESS)

Guest blog by Dave Gooder, Commissioners for Trademarks

For decades, the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)
has been a fixture of the USPTO’s information technology portfolio. Those of us
in the trademark community have grown accustomed to it, and perhaps even grown fond
of it over the years. Maybe you have field tags and design search codes
memorized, and you can formulate complex search strings to pull up the exact
mark you’re looking for in a snap.

Although TESS has served us well, its long tenure is ending in
November. Thirty years later, Bibliographic Retrieval System (BRS) which has
underpinned our internal and external search systems since 1993 is now outdated
and the vendor has notified us that it will no longer support BRS. On the
bright side, we now have an opportunity to provide a more stable, modern search
experience. It’s also important we create an infrastructure that can grow and
adapt to the ever-evolving needs of the trademark community.

You play a central role in further developing our new search
system, which recently
launched in beta. Our priority now, especially in the beta phase, is
listening to your perspective on what works and what doesn’t, in order to
optimize your search experience. To this end, I encourage you to use, learn,
and express your feedback and suggestions on the new search. Your feedback will
guide how we prioritize and develop updates beginning in 2024 and continuing
for the life of the search system.

We understand that acclimating to a new interface and search
syntax takes time and effort. We’re holding several virtual events to help you
get familiar with the new system:

·        
Demo
of the new trademark search system, September 26, 11 a.m. to noon ET

·        
Demo
of the new trademark search system, September 28, 3-4 p.m. ET

·        
Transitioning
from TESS to new search, September 19, 2-3:30 p.m. ET

·        
Federal
trademark searching: Basics, October 2, 2-3:30 p.m. ET

·        
Federal
trademark searching: advanced techniques, October 16, 2-3:30 p.m. ET

Thank you for the valuable feedback you’ve provided thus
far, and please keep it coming. As we strive to transform your search
experience for the better and to strengthen our IT infrastructure, we’re
grateful for your support and engagement.