An Anatomy of US Firms Seeking Trademark Registration

This paper reports on the construction of a new dataset that combines data on trademark applications and registrations from the US Patent and Trademark Office with data on firms from the US Census Bureau. The resulting dataset allows tracking of various activity related to trademark use and protection over the life-cycle of firms. Facts about firm-level trademark activity are documented, including the incidence and timing of trademark registration filings over the firm life-cycle and the connection between firm characteristics and trademark applications. The analysis indicates that trademark filing is correlated with employment and revenue growth. There appears to be strong selection into trademark filing for trademark registration based on firm size and age. Firms seeking trademark registration also have higher employment and greater revenue in the period following first filing relative to a control group. Firms with R&D and patent activity are also very likely to apply to register trademarks.