How Trama compares across three key jurisdictions
The clearest way to judge a filing method is to set its results against the market. Here is how Trama's average registration success rate compares with the industry average in the US, the UK and the EU, three jurisdictions with very different examination standards.
Jurisdiction | Industry average | Trama |
|---|---|---|
United States | 80.0% | 89.5% |
United Kingdom | 90.4% | 94.4% |
European Union | 93.0% | 93.6% |
The UK and EU already have high standard baselines, which leaves less room to stand out. The US is different. It is one of the most demanding trademark environments in the world, and it's where the gap between average and exceptional becomes most visible.
A closer look at the US
To understand what drives registration outcomes in the US, we analysed 49,388 applications filed in March 2025, comparing results across four groups: applicants who filed on their own, applicants who used a representative, the market overall, and applicants who filed with Trama.
| Self-filed | With representative | Overall | With Trama |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration success rate | 70.2% | 86.4% | 80.0% | 89.5% |
Office action risk | 52.0% | 43.4% | 46.8% | 39.2% |
Two things stand out.
First, professional representation makes a measurable difference. Self-filed applications succeed only 70.2% of the time, meaning nearly three in ten fail to reach registration. Applications filed with a representative reach 86.4%, a gap of more than 16 percentage points.
Our US registration success rate of 89.5% is 9.5 points above the market overall and 3.1 points above represented applications. Put simply, roughly one in ten Trama filings falls short, compared with one in five across the market.
Fewer office actions, smoother registrations
Registration success tells only part of the story. An application that eventually registers after multiple office actions still costs the client time, money and patience, and it tests the relationship between client and advisor.
This is where our results are especially meaningful. Across the US market, 46.8% of applications receive an office action. For represented applications, the figure is 43.4%. For Trama, it's 39.2%, nearly 8 percentage points below the market overall and almost 13 points below self-filed applications.
What's behind the difference
These results aren't accidental. They're the product of a method we've refined over more than 30,000 registered trademarks, built on three core ingredients.
It starts with clearance. Every Trama engagement begins with a lawyer-reviewed clearance search, provided free of charge. Supported by automated data processing, our lawyers assess not only the overlap in goods and services terms on paper but the real overlap in business activity. This lets us see past over-generalised specifications on the register and identify the conflicts that genuinely matter, before they turn into office actions.
Next comes drafting. The clearance findings feed directly into the application, guiding the choice of goods and services to maximise protection while minimising friction with prior rights. A well-drafted specification is one of the most effective ways to avoid objections, and it's where many avoidable office actions begin.
Finally, there's judgment. Our team includes former IP office examiners who understand how applications are read from the other side of the desk. Combined with the experience of tens of thousands of registrations, that insight shapes every judgment call we make.
Read more about how these ingredients come together in The Secret Sauce Behind Trama’s Registration Success.
Raising the bar, together
The data confirms what experienced practitioners already know: expert representation makes a real difference to trademark outcomes. Our aim is to push that difference further, and to share it with the firms we work alongside.
For partner firms, working with Trama means higher registration success, fewer office actions and more predictable outcomes for your clients, while your firm remains the advisor they trust. If you'd like to explore what that could look like, get in touch today.
