Filing Routes & Mark Types

Every trademark in Signa carries three classification dimensions: how it was filed (filing route), what type of mark it is (mark feature type), and what legal category it belongs to (legal category). Understanding these dimensions is essential for building accurate search queries and interpreting results.

Filing Routes

The filing route describes the procedural path through which a trademark application was submitted.

Route	Value	Description
Direct national	`direct_national`	Filed directly at a national office (e.g., USPTO, CIPO)
Direct regional	`direct_regional`	Filed directly at a regional office (e.g., EUIPO for the EU, BOIP for Benelux)
Madrid IR	`madrid_ir`	The international registration record itself (the grouped IR-family row)
Madrid designation	`madrid_designation`	A country designation under a Madrid Protocol international registration
Transformation	`transformation`	A national application created from a cancelled Madrid designation
Divisional	`divisional`	Split from a parent application (e.g., to separate contested classes)
Unknown	`unknown`	Route could not be determined from source data

Scope Kind

Related to filing route, the scope_kind field classifies the territorial scope:

Scope	Description	Typical Routes
`national`	Protection in one country	`direct_national`, `madrid_designation`, `transformation`
`regional`	Protection across a regional bloc	`direct_regional`
`international_registration`	WIPO international register	`madrid_ir`, `madrid_designation`

Filtering by Route

# All direct national filings
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?filing_route=direct_national" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

# All Madrid marks
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?is_madrid=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

// Direct national filings only
const national = await signa.trademarks.list({
  filing_route: "direct_national",
});

// All Madrid marks
const madrid = await signa.trademarks.list({
  is_madrid: true,
});

// Regional filings (EUIPO, BOIP)
const regional = await signa.trademarks.list({
  filing_route: "direct_regional",
});

Search aggregations include filing_route breakdowns:

{
  "aggregations": {
    "filing_route": {
      "direct_national": 3800,
      "madrid_designation": 1547,
      "direct_regional": 647
    }
  }
}

Mark Feature Types (16 values)

The mark feature type describes the visual or sensory form of the trademark.

Type	Value	Description
Word	`word`	Text only, no stylization
Figurative	`figurative`	Design, or words in stylized lettering; may contain text
Combined	`combined`	Text + design elements together
3D	`three_d`	Three-dimensional shape
Color	`color`	A specific color or color combination
Sound	`sound`	Audio mark (jingle, chime)
Motion	`motion`	Animated or moving mark
Hologram	`hologram`	Holographic mark
Pattern	`pattern`	Repeating pattern applied to a surface
Position	`position`	Mark defined by its position on goods
Multimedia	`multimedia`	Combination of image and sound
Scent	`scent`	Olfactory mark (extremely rare)
Taste	`taste`	Gustatory mark (extremely rare)
Texture	`texture`	Tactile mark
Other	`other`	Non-standard type
Unknown	`unknown`	Type could not be determined

The vast majority of marks are word, figurative, or combined. Non-traditional marks (sound, scent, hologram, etc.) represent a small but growing percentage.

# All figurative marks in the EU
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?mark_feature_type=figurative&jurisdictions=EU" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

const logos = await signa.trademarks.list({
  mark_feature_type: "figurative",
  jurisdictions: "EU",
});

Impact on Search

The mark feature type affects how search works:

Word marks are matched by text similarity (phonetic, visual, conceptual)
Figurative marks can contain text: words in stylized lettering are figurative (for example USPTO drawing code 5), and their mark_text holds the words. A figurative mark with no words returns mark_text: "[Design Mark]", a placeholder rather than words on the mark, and can only be found via design codes (Vienna classification) or owner/class filters. To tell whether a mark has words, check mark_feature_type together with its design codes, not mark_text alone; mark_feature_type=figurative is not a filter for marks without words
Combined marks are searchable by both text and design codes

Legal Categories (9 values)

The legal category classifies the legal nature of the trademark right.

Category	Value	Description
Standard	`standard`	Ordinary trademark identifying goods/services of one enterprise
Collective	`collective`	Indicates membership in an association
Certification	`certification`	Certifies characteristics (quality, origin, materials)
Collective membership	`collective_membership`	Indicates membership without certifying quality
Defensive	`defensive`	Registered to prevent others from using (AU-specific)
Guarantee	`guarantee`	Guarantees quality standards (some jurisdictions)
Geographical indication	`geographical_indication`	Identifies goods originating from a specific place
Other	`other`	Non-standard category
Unknown	`unknown`	Category could not be determined

The overwhelming majority of marks are standard. Collective and certification marks have special rules around who can use them and how they are enforced.

# All certification marks
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?mark_legal_category=certification" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

# Geographical indications
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?mark_legal_category=geographical_indication" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

const certMarks = await signa.trademarks.list({
  mark_legal_category: "certification",
});

Right Kind (5 values)

Distinct from legal category, right_kind classifies the type of IP right:

Kind	Value	Description
Trademark	`trademark`	Standard trademark
Trade name	`trade_name`	Business name registration
Commercial notice	`commercial_notice`	Commercial notice (some Latin American offices)
Geographical indication	`geographical_indication`	GI registered as a standalone right
Other	`other`	Non-standard right type

Most records are trademark. The right_kind field exists because some offices register trade names and GIs in the same database as trademarks.

Combining Dimensions

These classification fields work together for precise filtering. Some common combinations:

Use Case	Filters
Word marks filed directly in the US	`mark_feature_type=word`, `filing_route=direct_national`, `jurisdictions=US`
Madrid designations in the EU	`filing_route=madrid_designation`, `offices=EM`
All certification marks globally	`mark_legal_category=certification`
Figurative marks in Nice Class 25	`mark_feature_type=figurative`, `nice_classes=25`
GIs registered in the EU	`mark_legal_category=geographical_indication`, `jurisdictions=EU`

# Word marks filed directly in the US, Nice Class 9
curl -s "https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks?\
mark_feature_type=word&\
filing_route=direct_national&\
jurisdictions=US&\
nice_classes=9" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY"

const results = await signa.trademarks.list({
  mark_feature_type: "word",
  filing_route: "direct_national",
  jurisdictions: "US",
  nice_classes: 9,
});

Search Aggregations

All three classification dimensions are available as search aggregations. Aggregations are POST-only, so use signa.trademarks.search():

curl -s -X POST https://api.signa.so/v1/trademarks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "q": "APPLE",
    "options": { "aggregations": ["mark_feature_type", "mark_legal_category", "filing_route", "right_kind", "scope_kind"] }
  }'

const results = await signa.trademarks.search({
  q: "APPLE",
  options: {
    aggregations: [
      "mark_feature_type",
      "mark_legal_category",
      "filing_route",
      "right_kind",
      "scope_kind",
    ],
  },
});

console.log(results.aggregations.mark_feature_type);
// { word: 3800, figurative: 1200, combined: 647 }

Getting started

Core concepts

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Data

Monitoring

Working with the API

Use cases

Filing Routes & Mark Types

Filing Routes

Scope Kind

Filtering by Route

Mark Feature Types (16 values)

Impact on Search

Legal Categories (9 values)

Right Kind (5 values)

Combining Dimensions

Search Aggregations

​Filing Routes

​Scope Kind

​Filtering by Route

​Mark Feature Types (16 values)

​Impact on Search

​Legal Categories (9 values)

​Right Kind (5 values)

​Combining Dimensions

​Search Aggregations

Filing Routes

Scope Kind

Filtering by Route

Mark Feature Types (16 values)

Impact on Search

Legal Categories (9 values)

Right Kind (5 values)

Combining Dimensions

Search Aggregations