Fucking Machines filed a request in July 2005 to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure its intellectual property rights for the mark "fuckingmachines", having met the first standard that the word was not in use by any other entity. The site became involved in a trademark dispute when the USPTO refused to grant a trademark for the name of the site, asserting that it was obscene. The case for Fucking Machines' use of the mark was handled by free speech attorney Marc Randazza.