# USPTO Trademark Checker for Print-on-Demand (`real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker`) Actor

Bulk-check t-shirt phrases and slogans against live USPTO trademarks before you publish. HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW risk per phrase, filtered to clothing (class 25) or any classes you sell. $3 per 1,000 phrases.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Josh McCoy](https://apify.com/real_mccoy) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 phrase checks

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## USPTO Trademark Checker for Print-on-Demand

Check hundreds of t-shirt phrases, slogans and product names against **live USPTO trademarks** in one run — before you upload designs to Merch by Amazon, Etsy, Redbubble, Teepublic, Spring or Shopify.

Each phrase gets a clear risk verdict plus the exact trademarks that conflict with it, filtered to the product classes you actually sell (clothing by default).

### Why use it

- **Avoid takedowns and account strikes.** Amazon Merch and Etsy remove listings — and can suspend accounts — for trademarked phrases. One check costs a fraction of a cent.
- **Bulk, not one-by-one.** Paste up to 5,000 phrases per run instead of searching the USPTO site manually.
- **Class-aware.** A phrase trademarked for restaurants isn't the same risk as one trademarked for t-shirts. Defaults to class 25 (clothing); add mugs (21), stickers (16), phone cases (9) and more.
- **Catches partial conflicts.** Flags marks that *contain* your phrase, marks that appear *inside* your phrase, and the same words in a different order — not just exact hits.
- **Ignores cancelled classes.** A mark that's still live but whose clothing class was cancelled won't trip a false alarm.
- **Official data.** Results come straight from the USPTO's own trademark search database, live at run time.

### Risk levels

| Risk | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **HIGH** | A live trademark exactly matches the phrase — or uses the same words in a different order — in the selected classes. Don't use it. |
| **MEDIUM** | A live trademark contains your phrase, or a multi-word live mark appears inside it. Review before using. |
| **LOW** | Only single-word live marks appear inside the phrase (e.g., a common word). Usually fine, but glance at the list. |
| **NONE_FOUND** | No live matching marks in the selected classes. |

### Input

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `phrases` | Phrases to check, one per line (up to 5,000). |
| `classes` | International classes to check. Default `["25"]`. |
| `allClasses` | Check every class instead (brand-name clearance). |
| `liveOnly` | Only registered + pending marks (default on). |
| `maxMatchesPerPhrase` | How many conflicts to list per phrase (default 10). |

#### Common print-on-demand classes

| Class | Products |
|---|---|
| 25 | T-shirts, hoodies, hats, socks — all clothing |
| 21 | Mugs, tumblers, drinkware |
| 16 | Stickers, posters, notebooks, prints |
| 9 | Phone cases, laptop sleeves |
| 18 | Tote bags, backpacks |
| 24 | Blankets, towels |
| 20 | Pillows |
| 28 | Toys, games, puzzles |
| 14 | Jewelry, keychains |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "phrases": ["Mama Bear", "Coffee Lover", "Good Vibes Only", "Pickleball Addict"],
  "classes": ["25", "21"],
  "liveOnly": true
}
```

### Output

One row per phrase. The **Risk overview** table shows the verdict at a glance; the full JSON includes every conflicting mark.

```json
{
  "phrase": "Mama Bear",
  "risk": "HIGH",
  "summary": "2 live trademark(s) exactly match this phrase.",
  "exactMatches": 2,
  "reorderedMatches": 0,
  "marksContainingPhrase": 5,
  "marksInsidePhrase": 0,
  "moreMatchesLikely": false,
  "topMatch": "MAMA BEAR",
  "topMatchOwner": "Example Apparel LLC",
  "matches": [
    {
      "wordmark": "MAMA BEAR",
      "matchType": "EXACT",
      "status": "REGISTERED",
      "live": true,
      "serialNumber": "88123456",
      "registrationNumber": "6012345",
      "classes": ["IC 025"],
      "owner": "Example Apparel LLC",
      "filedDate": "2019-03-01",
      "registrationDate": "2020-04-14",
      "goodsAndServices": "IC 025: Shirts; T-shirts; Sweatshirts...",
      "tsdrUrl": "https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88123456&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch"
    }
  ],
  "classesChecked": ["IC 025"],
  "liveMarksOnly": true,
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-20T22:15:00+00:00"
}
```

Export to CSV, Excel or JSON, or pull results through the Apify API.

### Pricing

**$3 per 1,000 phrases checked** ($0.003 each). You're charged once per phrase, however many conflicts it has. Set a maximum cost per run in Apify and the actor stops cleanly when it's reached.

### Automate it

- **Schedule** a weekly run on your existing catalog to catch new filings against designs you already sell.
- **API / Make / Zapier / n8n:** send new phrases from your design pipeline and only publish the ones that come back `NONE_FOUND` or `LOW`.

### Limitations

- Checks **US (USPTO)** trademarks only.
- Text-based matching. It doesn't evaluate logos/design marks or "likelihood of confusion" for sound-alikes and different spellings beyond what USPTO indexes.
- **Not legal advice.** A clear result lowers risk but doesn't guarantee a phrase is free to use. For anything important, talk to a trademark attorney.

# Actor input Schema

## `phrases` (type: `array`):

T-shirt phrases, slogans, product or brand names. One per line. Up to 5,000 per run. Duplicates are removed automatically.

## `classes` (type: `array`):

International classes to check against. Default is 25 (clothing). Common print-on-demand classes: 25 clothing, 21 mugs & drinkware, 16 stickers/posters/paper, 9 phone cases, 18 bags/totes, 24 blankets/towels, 20 pillows, 28 toys & games, 14 jewelry. Enter numbers like 25 or 021.

## `allClasses` (type: `boolean`):

Ignore the class list and check every class. Useful for brand-name clearance.

## `liveOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only consider registered and pending trademarks. Dead (abandoned/cancelled) marks can't be enforced, so most sellers leave this on.

## `maxMatchesPerPhrase` (type: `integer`):

How many conflicting trademarks to include in each result's details.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many phrases to check at once.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "phrases": [
    "Mama Bear",
    "Coffee Lover",
    "Good Vibes Only",
    "Pickleball Addict"
  ],
  "classes": [
    "25"
  ],
  "allClasses": false,
  "liveOnly": true,
  "maxMatchesPerPhrase": 10,
  "concurrency": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "phrases": [
        "Mama Bear",
        "Coffee Lover",
        "Good Vibes Only",
        "Pickleball Addict"
    ],
    "classes": [
        "25"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "phrases": [
        "Mama Bear",
        "Coffee Lover",
        "Good Vibes Only",
        "Pickleball Addict",
    ],
    "classes": ["25"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "phrases": [
    "Mama Bear",
    "Coffee Lover",
    "Good Vibes Only",
    "Pickleball Addict"
  ],
  "classes": [
    "25"
  ]
}' |
apify call real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,real_mccoy/uspto-trademark-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/54NArsurgPQWOmJKs/builds/ZUxXQAVHyybBv0XPt/openapi.json