The "bank" brand has been abolished in the US.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has cancelled the "bank" trademark registered last week.

The trademark was acquired by Asif LLC. Its intended purpose was likely to later register the .bank top-level domain.

The USPTO stated that this trademark was registered in error. USPTO staff sent a letter to Asif's attorneys, stating that the agency had received a letter objecting to the trademark's registration for the purpose of subsequently obtaining a top-level domain. The agency also noted that it adheres to a policy of not registering trademarks for New gTLD program domains, especially since the agency's operating rules include a provision according to which the USPTO promises not to register trademarks identical to top-level domains. Notably, the letter sent to Asif was anonymous.