The USPTO has released the Trademark Classification Agentic Codification Tool—known as "Class ACT"—a first-of-its-kind AI agent that instantly assigns international classes to unclassified applications, along with design search codes and pseudo marks that make records searchable.

Announced by USPTO Director John A. Squires on March 19, 2026, Class ACT addresses a longstanding bottleneck. The surge in trademark filings—especially those involving logos, designs, unconventional spellings, or no pre-assigned class—had pushed manual classification prep to five months (or longer in complex cases), delaying examination, publication, and public searchability.

Human review remains firmly in the loop: USPTO staff validate outputs for accuracy before the data goes live to examiners and the public, allowing the benefits of faster searchability to flow almost immediately.

Why Trademark-Generating Companies and Their Practitioners Should Watch This Closely

  • ⚡ Instant searchability transforms practice. The database becomes far more current and complete almost immediately—delivering timelier clearance searches, sharper filing strategies, and better competitive monitoring for brand owners across tech, consumer goods, and life sciences.
  • 🤖 Agentic AI is now live in core government IP workflows. This is not a pilot or proof-of-concept; task-directed AI agents are processing real applications today.
  • 📋 Human oversight preserves integrity. Accountability stays intact, protecting the reliability of the Trademark Register and the examination record while freeing examiners to focus on substantive issues.
  • 🔜 More to come. The announcement closes with a clear signal: "More AI trademark solutions are coming soon."

Under Director Squires' leadership, the USPTO is moving with speed and pragmatism. Agentic AI is becoming an essential element of modern IP practice, reshaping how the USPTO and practitioners search, file, and prosecute trademarks.

What impact do you see for your trademark clearance or prosecution work?

Full USPTO announcement: https://lnkd.in/eGtUemBM