TRACE™ Report · Section 2(d) refusals
Know how strong your refusal really is, before you spend a dollar fighting it.
TRACE reads your USPTO Section 2(d) refusal against your mark, scores it across nine factors and 180 benchmarks, and calibrates the result to more than 600 decided TTAB cases. One clear number, and the data behind it.
Example Confusion Index
The fork in the road
A refusal is a decision you make with almost no information.
Most applicants guess. TRACE replaces the guess with a measured read of your specific refusal, so fighting, amending, refiling or walking away is a choice you make with the facts.
Walk away
Abandon the application and lose the USPTO fees you already paid, without knowing whether the refusal would have held.
Guess #1Pay by the hour
Hire help on an open meter and start spending before anyone has measured whether the fight is winnable.
Guess #2Measure it first
For $25, see where the examiner's case is weak, where it is solid, and what the data points to. Then decide.
The TRACE ReportHOW TRACE™ WORKS
Watch a TRACE™ Report get built.
Filled dots show each lens score out of 10; the dashed line is 7.0. Illustrative example with fictional marks.
Devil's advocate
Before you argue, TRACE argues against you.
Every TRACE read starts on the examiner's side. It asks the hard questions the examiner and the Board would ask, tests each answer against decided cases, and tells you two things: whether the refusal is surmountable, and exactly which gaps to close first.
Strip away the logos. Would a hurried shopper see one mark or two?
Questions and findings from the sample report: ROJA BEAUTY vs. LA ROJA, fictional marks. Your report asks the same questions of your refusal.
What's inside
Twenty-one pages you can actually check.
Read it in four passes: the summary, the number, the factor that carries the refusal, and the conclusion. Everything else is the evidence behind those four.
The Five ModelsHow the number is built, reasoned five ways.
Executive SummaryThe position, the strongest ground and the diagnosis, in four parts.
The Problem & Mark ComparisonWhat was refused, and your mark beside the cited one.
Factor-by-Factor AnalysisOne page per factor: twenty stress questions, the score and what it means.
The Closest TTAB DecisionThe one decided case whose facts sit nearest yours.
Key Findings & Heat MapYour Confusion Index, the five models, every factor score and all 180 questions in one grid.
Conclusion & RecommendationWhat the data points to, and the evidence to gather first.
Where it's weak
The factors that cut in your favor, and the openings a response would lead with.
Where it's solid
The points you cannot wish away, so you know what you are up against before you commit.
What the data points to
How the evidence lines up behind responding, amending or refiling. The decision stays yours.
See it before you buy
Download a sample TRACE Report.
Seven pages from a 21-page report on a fictional refusal: ROJA BEAUTY for lip and eye cosmetics, refused over LA ROJA for cosmetics. It scores 7.68 and says plainly that argument alone won't win. Read exactly what you'd get, then decide.
CoverThe matter and the Confusion Index: 7.68, Likely Confusion.
Executive SummaryThe position, the strongest ground of distinction and the diagnosis, in plain words.
A factor pageAll twenty stress questions on the marks, each with its score and rationale.
Key Findings & Heat MapThe five models, the margin to 7.00, every factor score and all 180 questions.
Conclusion & RecommendationWhat to argue, what to gather first, and what to expect.
It's yours. The sample opens in a new tab.
Open the sample PDFFree. Two quick questions, then your download opens.
The method
Your refusal, measured against how the Board actually decides.
Anchored to 600+ decided cases
Nothing is a guess about what examiners generally do. Every score is anchored to how comparable disputes were actually decided.
Nine factors, 180 benchmarks
Each factor is scored across twenty benchmarks from 1 to 10. Anything not applicable drops out rather than counting against you.
One index, four bands
Everything turns on 7.00. At or above it, confusion is treated as probable. Below it, the refusal is contestable.
Counted five ways
Five weightings are plotted on one axis. A tight cluster means a confident number, not an artifact of one method.
In their words
Applicants who measured first.
“Your breakdown is really clear and gives me a lot of confidence going into this response.”
“I just finished reading your response… it's brilliant!! Your writing is thorough and very detailed.”
“I completely agree with your assessment — the examiner's position feels like a huge leap and falls apart under real-world scrutiny.”
The process
From your order to the USPTO's decision.
The report is yours either way. If you choose to answer the refusal, this is the road, and nothing is filed without your written approval.
Order your report
Pay $25 and send your serial number. That's all we need.
Read your TRACE Report
Your index, all 180 benchmarks and the closest decided case.
$25 consultation
A 30-minute call and a written memorandum of your options, booked separately once your report is in.
Drafting, if you proceed
Your response is written against the factors that carry the refusal.
You approve
A complete draft. Nothing is filed until you approve it in writing.
The USPTO decides
The refusal is withdrawn or a final action issues. We track it.
Steps 3–6 are your choice. Both $25 fees are credited toward any response package.
Get your report
One number, twenty-one pages, written notes. $25.
TRACE™ Report + written notes
- Your full TRACE Report within 24-48 hours. The benchmark-by-benchmark read on your refusal.
- Written notes you keep. The takeaways in plain language.
- Want to talk it through? Once your report arrives, you can book a separate $25 consultation: a 30-minute call plus a written memorandum.
- Credited if you proceed. The full $25 goes toward any response package.
- No obligation. File the response yourself if you'd like.
Secure checkout through PayPal. After paying you return here for your next steps. Not legal advice. No outcome guaranteed.
Pay $25Secure checkout through PayPal takes about a minute.
Send your serial numberEmail it to info@trademarkscrivener.com. We pull the Office Action ourselves.
Read your reportIt arrives by email within 24-48 hours. If you'd like to talk it through, you can then book a $25 consultation.
Why start here
Between doing it alone and an open-ended bill.
| Self-file blind | Hourly help | TRACE first | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Know your odds first | No | Usually not | Yes, one number |
| Cost to find out | Your filing fees if it fails | Open-ended | $25, credited if you proceed |
| Anchored to decided cases | No | Varies | 600+ TTAB decisions |
| Who stays in control | You | Your representative | You, applicant of record |
If you proceed · flat fees
* If approved. Success fees are owed only when the USPTO approves your mark for publication. USPTO government fees are separate and paid by you.
Writing the response yourself?
TRACE tells you where to fight. The workbook shows you how.
Your report names the factors to press and the gaps to close. The Office Action Response Workbook turns that into a finished, ready-to-file response you write and sign yourself.
- 10 steps, 18 worksheets. Each step ends with a "Done when" check.
- 60 examiner arguments answered. Find the one in your office action, use the counter.
- 50 authorities, 23 of them binding. Each applied to an invented pair of marks.
- An editable Word template. Formatted for filing, with the legal standards in place.
Measure the refusalOne number, nine factors, the gaps exposed. $25.
Work the ten stepsWorksheets, authorities and the template. $149.
File it yourselfOn the USPTO's TEAS form, as applicant of record.
Honest by design
What we are, and what we are not.
An independent trademark administrator. Data and analysis to inform your decision, not legal advice.
The Confusion Index is proprietary, not a USPTO or TTAB standard, and no examiner is bound by it.
The Examining Attorney has complete discretion. No approval can be promised.
Every score is calibrated to decided Board cases, not a hunch.
You remain the applicant of record. Nothing is filed without your written approval.
TTAB oppositions and foreign-domiciled applicants need one. The report is still yours.
Questions
The ones people ask first.
What exactly do I get for $25?
Your full TRACE Report within 24-48 hours and written notes you keep, all yours even if you file the response yourself. Once your report is delivered, you can book a separate $25 consultation: a 30-minute call plus a written memorandum of your options.
What do I need to send?
Just your application serial number. We pull the Office Action ourselves.
How fast will I get it?
Within 24-48 hours of payment, by email.
Is the TRACE Report legal advice?
No. It is an analytical assessment from an independent trademark administrator to inform your own decision. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and you can share it with your own attorney.
Is the Confusion Index an official USPTO score?
No. It is a proprietary Trademark Scrivener metric calibrated to more than 600 decided Board cases. No examiner is bound by it.
Do you guarantee approval?
No. The Examining Attorney makes the final decision. The report tells you how strong the refusal is and what a response would need to address.
Do I have to buy a response package?
No. Many people take the read and file the response themselves. If you do proceed, the full $25 is credited.
Are USPTO fees included?
No. Government filing fees are separate and paid by you directly to the USPTO.
Your deadline is already running
Find out where your refusal really stands.
Most applicants get three months to respond. Spend the first day measuring, not guessing.
What happens next
- TodayPay $25 and send your serial number. That's all we need.
- 24-48 hrsYour TRACE Report and written notes arrive by email.
- ThenWrite the response yourself, or have us prepare it. The $25 is credited toward any package.
No obligation · Not legal advice · No outcome guaranteed