Category: Trademark Protection

Yes, if it shows the trademark used to advertise or sell the services in the application. Generally, the specimen must show:

• A reference to the services
• A direct association between the trademark and the services
• Use of the trademark as the source of the services.

A web page that doesn’t explicitly reference the services may still be acceptable if it shows the trademark used in the rendering or providing of the services.

You must provide an actual screenshot of the web page, the URL, and the date the web page was accessed and/or printed. Merely providing a web page address is not an acceptable specimen.

The web page specimen shown here is acceptable for online retail store services because the MACYS.COM trademark is prominently displayed in the upper-left corner of the web page.

• The goods being sold are shown in the center; menus on the right side of the web page show various categories of goods sold in the online store.
• The MACYS.COM trademark is directly associated with retail store services based on the trademark’s proximity to the goods being sold and the prominent wording “express checkout sign-in” in the left-hand column.

The required URL and date the web page was accessed and/or printed are shown on the specimen.

A specimen for services must show the trademark used in providing or advertising the services. For example, your specimen could be:

• A digital photograph of a business sign in front of the store where the services are being provided
• A brochure about the services
• An advertisement for the services
• A business card that references the services
• Stationery showing the mark and referencing the services.

The specimen must show a direct association between the trademark and the services.

The following are generally not acceptable as specimens for goods:

• Advertisements
• Invoices
• Publicity announcements
• Order forms
• Leaflets
• Brochures
• Press releases
• Letterhead
• Business cards
• Web page addresses

In some cases, yes. If your web page shows a photo of your goods or its packaging with your trademark on either the goods or its packaging, then your web page is generally acceptable as a specimen.

Your web page can also be a proper specimen if it shows your trademark directly associated with your goods and is of a point-of-sale nature. In this case, the specimen would need to show:

• The trademark displayed near a picture or textual description of the goods (trademark directly associated with the goods)
• Purchasing information to allow customers to buy the goods from the site (point-of-sale nature)

For all web page specimens, you must provide an actual screenshot of the web page, the URL, and the date the web page was accessed and/or printed. Merely providing a web page address where the goods may be purchased is not an acceptable specimen.

A specimen for goods could show the trademark on or attached to the goods themselves or on packaging for the goods. For example, your specimen could be a photograph of the goods with a tag or label attached or a photograph of packaging showing your trademark. A display specimen would show the mark near a picture, photograph, or textual description of the goods and include information necessary to purchase the goods.

The specimen may not be a digitally-altered image or photograph, computer illustration, artist’s rendering, or similar mock-up of these items. It must be a photograph of the actual product or packaging that is being sold to customers.

A specimen that shows your trademark used in a purely ornamental or decorative manner is likely not an acceptable specimen. For example, a slogan or logo emblazoned across the front of a t-shirt, hat, or tote bag would not be acceptable because consumers would likely perceive the slogan or logo as merely an ornamental or decorative element rather than as a trademark indicating the source of the shirts, hat, or tote bag. However, consumers may perceive a small word or design on such goods, like a small discrete animal logo on a shirt front pocket, as a trademark. A photograph of this use would likely be an acceptable specimen.

A specimen is a real-life sample of how you are actually using your trademark in commerce with your goods or services. A specimen is not the same as a drawing. A drawing shows only the trademark you want to register, whereas the specimen shows your trademark as purchasers would encounter it in the marketplace (e.g., a specimen shows the mark on the entire product and/or packaging or shows a web page featuring the mark to advertise services).

A USPTO registration is effective only in the U.S., even though the goods/services are assigned an “international” classification number. If after filing a U.S. application you want to protect your mark outside the U.S., you may file an international application or file directly in that country. For more information about protecting your mark under the Madrid Protocol, see the Madrid Protocol page, under laws and regulations at the USPTO Trademarks site.

Yes. Based on international agreements/treaties, an owner may file an application in the U.S. based on a foreign application/registration issued by another country (a “Section 44” application). Also, a foreign owner may file an international application in its home country and request an extension of protection to the U.S. (a “Section 66(a)” application). See Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) Chapters 1000 and 1900 for more information.

If you have not yet used the mark but plan to do so in the future, you may file based on a good faith or bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce. A bona fide intent to use the mark is more than an idea and less than market ready. For example, having a business plan, creating sample products, or performing other initial business activities may reflect a bona fide intent to use the mark.

The date of first use anywhere is the date on which the goods were first sold or transported or the services were first provided under the mark even if that use was only local. The date of first use in commerce is the date on which the goods were first sold or transported or the services were first provided under the mark between more than one state or U.S. territory, or in commerce between the U.S. and another country. The date of first use anywhere must be the same as or earlier than the date of first use in commerce.