Register a restaurant name before the second location.
Restaurant, bar and catering oppositions are all growing. A multi-location group or franchise licenses its name, so the name has to hold up against a challenge.
Restaurant, bar, café, catering and hotel services are registered in Class 43. Franchising services and retail are Class 35, and packaged foods you sell are Classes 29 through 32.
A franchise disclosure document must say whether the franchisor’s principal trademarks are registered. Restaurant oppositions rose 26% on the volume trend, with 205 in 2025.
What trademark class is a restaurant name?
Class 43 covers restaurant, bar, café, catering and hotel services. Franchising services and retail sit in Class 35, and packaged sauces, coffee or merchandise sold under the brand need their own goods classes.
Groups that sell retail products such as bottled sauces, coffee or merch should plan those classes early, because the product lines often outgrow the restaurants.
Why do franchisors need a federal trademark registration?
Franchisees pay for the brand, and a federal registration gives nationwide priority from your filing date. The franchise disclosure document must also disclose whether your principal marks are registered on the USPTO’s Principal Register.
A single restaurant’s common-law rights generally stop where it trades, and someone may already use the name in the next market you want to enter. Clear the name and register it before you sell the first franchise or sign the second lease.
How often are restaurant trademarks opposed?
Restaurant services drew 205 oppositions in 2025, up 26% on the volume trend. Bars and nightclubs rose 35% and catering 41%.
| Category | Oppositions 2021 through 2025 | 2025 | Volume trend | Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant services | 945 | 205 | +26% | 31.3 |
| Bar & nightclub | 669 | 134 | +35% | 33.4 |
| Hotels & lodging | 353 | 68 | +25% | 31.1 |
| Catering | 266 | 67 | +41% | 28.6 |
| Bakery | 561 | 113 | +1% | 26.2 |
Which restaurant names get opposed?
Everyday words get opposed. One restaurant group has opposed 10 applications containing “Local”, and brewers, spirits brands and food companies police Stone, Jack, Eden and Happy.
| Word | Policed by | Oppositions | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | Eden Foods, Inc. | 13 | Mar 2026 |
| Local | Joey Tomato’s (Canada) Inc. | 10 | Apr 2025 |
| Jack | Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. +1 | 9 | Sep 2025 |
| Stone | Stone Brewing Co., LLC | 7 | May 2022 |
| Happy | We Are Happy, LLC | 5 | May 2025 |
| Mosaic | RLP Ventures, LLC | 5 | Jan 2022 |
Do restaurant groups usually hire a trademark lawyer?
Most restaurant groups do. In restaurant services, 75% of defendants appear with counsel and 25% without.
| Category | Matters per year | With counsel |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant services | 210 | 75% |
What should I do if my restaurant trademark is opposed?
Calendar the answer deadline the Board sets, generally 60 days from the notice, and get advice before that date. Across all categories combined, 44% of opposed applicants never answer and lose by default.
For a franchise system, an opposition can put the whole brand’s expansion on hold, so answer early and keep the negotiation moving. Filing an answer keeps every option open, including a negotiated, narrower registration. See how trademark oppositions work, or help if you filed the application yourself.
44% is the share of matters showing a default, from 16,106 TTAB prosecution histories parsed so far.
How we work with you.
Clear the name
A search and a straight read on risk before you invest in labels, packaging or a launch.
File it right
The right classes, a goods description that matches how you sell, and a specimen that proves use.
Defend it
Office actions, oppositions and enforcement, with a clear view of cost before each step.
More questions.
Q01Someone in another state uses our restaurant name. Can we still register?
Possibly. It depends on who used the name first, where, and whether customers are likely to be confused. An earlier local user can keep rights in its own area even after you register.
Q02Should the franchisor or a separate IP company own the marks?
Many franchise systems hold their marks in a separate IP entity that licenses them to the franchisor. It is a structuring decision to make with your franchise and tax advisers.
Q03Can we trademark a signature dish or menu item?
Yes, if the name is distinctive and used as a brand. Names that merely describe the dish cannot be registered.
Related help.
Trademark Registration
A clearance search and strategy before a USPTO filing that holds up.
Trademark Oppositions
Received a Notice of Opposition? Your answer deadline and your options for defending or settling it.
Filed It Yourself?
Attorney help when a self-filed application gets an office action, refusal, abandonment, or opposition.
Foreign Applicants
USPTO rules require trademark applicants based outside the US to be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
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