What are the main reasons for rejection of an application and refusal to register a mark?
Your application may be rejected on the basis of any of the following: 1. primarily merely descriptive or deceptive misdescriptive of the goods/services; 2. primarily geographically descriptive or primarily geographically deceptive; 3. misdescriptive of the goods/services; 4. primarily merely a surname; or 5. ornamental. For goods: the mark must appear on the goods, the container for the goods, or displays associated with the goods, and the goods must be sold or transported in commerce. For services: the mark must be used or displayed in the sale or advertising of the services, and the services must be rendered in commerce. If you have already started using the mark in commerce, you may file based on that use. A “use” based application must include a sworn statement (usually in the form of a declaration) that the mark is in use in commerce, listing the date of first use of the mark anywhere and the date of first use of the mark in commerce.