2026 State of Trademarks Report reveals growing confidence in AI

Corsearch research highlights how legal teams are cautiously embracing a blend of automation and human expertise

Report key takeaways 

• 78% of respondents prefer a balanced mix of automation and human oversight, with 59% actively implementing this approach
• 51% are exploring AI’s potential, up by 10% from 2025
• 64% now spend most of their resources on enforcement and dispute management, overtaking trademark clearance and search (59%), which ranked top in 2025
• 15% plan to increase investment in trademark protection tools and services, up from 10% in 2025
• Just 2% of trademark professionals have adopted a fully automated management model

Corsearch, the industry leader in trademarks and brand protection, has published its annual State of Trademarks Report^*, exploring current sentiment amongst trademark professionals and evolving trends in the adoption of innovative AI technology across the industry. Most notable is a shift from primarily using AI for trademark clearance and search, to enforcement and dispute management. 

Based on the results of an independently commissioned survey of more than 230 leading trademark practitioners – both in-house and law-firm based from across the US and EMEA – this year’s report reveals that while caution remains, confidence in AI is growing.

Launched at the Annual Meeting of The International Trademark Association (INTA), the 2026 State of Trademarks Report is available to download for free here, giving all stakeholders the benefit of the latest insights and opportunities.

According to the in-house and law-firm based trademark practitioners who took part in the study, investment in tech, automation and AI for trademark management is rising. 15% of respondents plan to increase investment in trademark tech in the coming year, up from 10% in 2025. 

Viji Krishnan, President, Trademarks, Corsearch commented: “The majority of our customers are looking for AI to aid their workflows, reduce risk, and increase the time they have available for decision-making. Whilst perceptions and processes have changed even in the past 12 months, they do still however, want to ensure that it is coupled with strong domain expertise and a ‘human in the loop’. This approach is likely to remain for some time to come.

“The industry’s next steps must focus on building a greater understanding of the benefits AI can bring. Only then will teams be confident enough to increase investment in and reliance upon AI and automation to futureproof trademark management.”