PhraseSafe is an informational tool and is not legal advice. A match (or no match) does not mean a phrase is or isn't safe to use. Consult a trademark attorney for decisions.
This page is informational only and is not legal advice. Trademark status can change; confirm with the USPTO or a trademark attorney.
Yes. The Texas Department of Transportation owns live registrations for DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS covering clothing (shirts, hats and caps), footwear, mugs and cups, and stickers and decals. That covers almost every core POD product. It started as an anti-litter campaign, and the state registered it as a trademark.
| Mark | Mark type | Status | Classes | Owner | Goods (excerpt) | Filed | Serial | Reg. No. / date | Status date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS | Standard characters (typed) | Live: registered | 25 | Texas Department of Transportation | 025: CLOTHING, NAMELY, SHIRTS, HATS AND CAPS | Nov. 07, 2000 | 76160856 | 3924369 / Mar. 01, 2011 | May 13, 2020 | TSDR |
| DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS | Standard characters | Live: registered | 25 | Texas Department of Transportation | 025: Footwear | Jul. 26, 2013 | 86021349 | 5078253 / Nov. 08, 2016 | Apr. 29, 2022 | TSDR |
| DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS | Standard characters | Live: registered | 21 | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | 021: Beverage containers, namely mugs and cups | Dec. 14, 2004 | 76624639 | 3149283 / Sep. 26, 2006 | Jan. 16, 2026 | TSDR |
| DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS | Standard characters (typed) | Live: registered | 16 | Texas Department of Transportation | 016: PRINTED MATTER AND PAPER PRODUCTS, NAMELY STICKERS, DECALS, BUMPER STICKERS, PAPER FOOD CONTAINERS, PAPER BAGS, PLASTIC TRASH BAGS, [ PAPER AND ] PLASTIC LITTER BAGS, … | Oct. 16, 2000 | 75981469 | 2627196 / Oct. 01, 2002 | Feb. 28, 2022 | TSDR |
| DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS | Standard characters | Dead: registration cancelled | 25 | Texas Department of Transportation | 025 (section 8 - cancelled): CLOTHING, NAMELY, T-SHIRTS, POLO SHIRTS, SHIRTS, BUTTON-FRONT SHIRTS, TWILL DRESS SHIRTS AND SWEAT SHIRTS | Aug. 31, 2009 | 77816121 | 3930439 / Mar. 15, 2011 | Oct. 20, 2017 | TSDR |
Goods text is quoted from the USPTO record and shortened where marked “…”. Words in [brackets] were deleted by the owner and are no longer covered. Classes listed are international classes. A dash (—) means no registration has issued.
Mark type matters. A standard-character mark covers the wording itself, in any font or style. A stylized or design (logo) mark is registered as shown, and how far it reaches to the same words in plain text is fact-specific. A trademark attorney can tell you how it applies to your design.
About this check. This page lists only the 5 USPTO records shown above. We picked them from a limited sample of search results (the top 100 results per phrase search, when a common phrase can have thousands of related filings) and verified each one on its USPTO TSDR status page. Other filings, live or dead, may exist. Where this page says "none," it means none in the records we checked.
Shirts, hats and caps (class 25). Reg. No. 3924369 (renewed in 2020) covers shirts, hats and caps, and Reg. No. 5078253 covers footwear. A separate T-shirt registration (Reg. No. 3930439) was cancelled in 2017, but that doesn't help, because the shirts registration is still live.
Mugs and cups (class 21). Reg. No. 3149283, renewed in January 2026, covers beverage containers, namely mugs and cups.
Stickers and decals (class 16). Reg. No. 2627196 covers stickers, decals and bumper stickers, along with paper and litter bags.
Bottom line. This is one of the clearest cases on this list. The phrase is registered for the products POD sellers make most, by an owner with a long history of protecting it.
Variants are starting points, not clearances. Any new wording can match a record we didn't list or a filing made after our check. Run every final phrase through a search before you list it.
One phrase is easy to look up. Hundreds of listings aren't. PhraseSafe checks the titles and tags in your Etsy or Shopify listings export against USPTO trademark records in merch classes and flags matches with status, class, owner and filing date. Starter scans up to 500 listings at a time. Pro adds a monthly new-filing check and daily status checks on marks you watch, with results shown on your PhraseSafe dashboard. Paid plans are activated with a license key.
This page is informational only and is not legal advice. Trademark status can change; confirm with the USPTO or a trademark attorney. A match (or no match) doesn't mean a phrase is or isn't okay to use.
Trademark data: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office public records, verified on USPTO TSDR status pages. Last checked: Oct. 18, 2026, about 3:10 PM PT. Not affiliated with the USPTO or any marketplace.