A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this website, the terms “trademark” and “mark” refer to both trademarks and service marks. A service mark can be as wide and varied as a brand name, logo, a shape, letters, numbers, sound, smell, color or any other aspect that renders a unique and distinct image to a service.

A certification mark is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce with the owner’s permission by someone other than its owner, to certify regional or other geographic origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of someone’s goods or services, or that the work or labor on the goods or services was performed by members of a union or other organization.

A collective mark is a trademark or service mark used, or intended to be used, in commerce, by the members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group or organization, including a mark, which indicates membership in a union, an association, or other organization.

Trademark registration on the Principal Register provides exclusive rights to prevent unauthorized use of the trademark. The main benefits of registering a trademark are that, it provides: a) constructive notice to the public of the registrant’s claim of ownership of the mark; b) a legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration; c) the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court; d) the use of the U.S registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries; and e) the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods

Yes. 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, intention to use the mark in commerce. You do not have to use the mark before you file your application. An “intent to use” application must include a sworn statement (usually in the form of a declaration) that you have a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. The applicant will have to file the “Allegation of Use” form to establish the legitimate usage of the mark in commerce.

Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you may use the federal registration symbol “®” only after the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.

You can start using the TM and SM from the moment you decide to claim your rights on a mark. However, the federal registration symbol “®” can only be used after the USPTO actually registers the mark, and not even while the application is pending. The registration symbol can be used with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and services listed in the federal trademark registration.

A word mark is “text only,” which means you seek to protect the word, or words, only – not the way they look. Word mark protection generally provides the broadest trademark protection. A design mark, or “stylized design,” seeks to protect an actual logo, or the specific styling of your text or name.

Basis for Filing specifies the basis on which the applicant files the application for registration of the mark. The main types of “Basis for Filing” are (a) use in commerce and (b) intent to use

For the purpose of obtaining federal registration, “commerce” means all commerce that the U.S. Congress may lawfully regulate; for example, interstate commerce or commerce between the U.S. and another country. For goods, “Interstate commerce” involves sending the goods across state lines with the mark displayed on the goods or the packaging for the goods. With services, “interstate commerce” involves offering a service to those in another state or rendering a service, which affects interstate commerce (e.g. restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc.). “Use in commerce” must be a bona fide use of the mark in the ordinary course of trade, and not use simply made to reserve rights in the mark. Generally, acceptable use is as follows: 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.

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, intention to use the mark in commerce. You do not have to use the mark before you file your application. An “intent to use” application must include a sworn statement (usually in the form of a declaration) that you have a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. If you file based on intent to use, you must begin actual use of the mark in commerce before the USPTO will register the mark; that is, after filing an application based on “intent to use,” you must later file another form to establish that use has begun. 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.

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.

If the examining attorney raises no objections to registration, or if the applicant overcomes all objections, the examining attorney will approve the mark for publication in the Official Gazette, a weekly publication of the USPTO. Any party who believes it may be damaged by registration of the mark has thirty (30) days from the publication date to file either an opposition to registration or a request to extend the time to oppose. An opposition is similar to a proceeding in a federal court, but is held before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a USPTO administrative tribunal. If no opposition is filed or if the opposition is unsuccessful, the application enters the next stage of the registration process. A Certificate of Registration will issue for applications based on use, or a Notice of Allowance will issue for intent-to-use applications.

The application enters the next stage of the registration process. A Certificate of Registration will be issued for applications based on use, or a Notice of Allowance will be issued for intent-to-use applications.

If the mark is published based upon the actual use of the mark in commerce, or on a foreign registration, and no party files an opposition or request to extend the time to oppose, the USPTO will register the mark and issue a registration certificate about twelve (12) weeks after the date the mark was published.

If the mark is published based upon the applicant’s bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, the USPTO will issue a notice of allowance about twelve (12) weeks after the date the mark gets published, if no party files either an opposition or request to extend the time to oppose. The applicant then has six (6) months from the date of the notice of allowance to either: a) use the mark in commerce and submit a statement of use along with a filing fee of $100 per class of goods or services and the required specimens, or b) request a six-month extension of time to file a statement of use, along with a filing fee of $150 per class of goods or services. Importantly, the USPTO will issue the registration certificate only after the statement of use is filed and approved.

This is a sworn statement signed by the owner or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the owner, to declare the use of the mark in commerce. An Allegation of Use filed before the mark is approved for publication is called an Amendment to Allege Use and an Allegation of Use filed after the Notice of Allowance is issued is called a Statement of Use. The Allegation of Use must be filed along with, (a) a filing fee of $100 per class of goods or services, and (b) a specimen showing use of the mark in commerce for each class of goods or services listed in the original application.

An Allegation of Use can be filed only, (a) on or before the day the examining attorney approves the mark for publication in the Official Gazette, or (b) on or after the day the USPTO issues the Notice of Allowance. An Allegation of Use filed before the mark is approved for publication is called an Amendment to Allege Use and an Allegation of Use filed after the Notice of Allowance is issued is called a Statement of Use.

This is a sworn statement signed by the owner, or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the owner, to declare that the applicant still has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, and needs additional time to use the mark in commerce. A filing fee of $150 per class of goods or services must accompany the Extension Request. The Extension Request, if granted, gives the owner an additional six (6) months to either, (a) use the mark in commerce and file a Statement of Use; or (b) file another Extension Request.

Yes. You can file a maximum of 5 Extension Requests. The USPTO permits filing of Extension Requests every six (6) months for up to 30 months. This means you must use the mark and file a Statement of Use within three (3) years of the date the Notice of Allowance issues.

If the applicant fails to use the mark in commerce and file the Statement of Use within thirty-six (36) months of the mailing date of the Notice of Allowance, the USPTO will not register the mark.

A trademark registration can have an eternal life provided (a) the mark is put in continuous use in trade or commerce, (b) the owner regularly files Affidavits of Continued Use or Excusable Nonuse, and (c) the owner regularly files the Applications for Renewal. The term of a federal trademark is usually 10 years, with 10 year renewal terms. Affidavits of Continued Use or Excusable Nonuse must be filed between the fifth and sixth year after the date of registration.

The applicant should receive a response to the application from the USPTO within six months from filing the application. However, the total time for an application to be processed may be anywhere from a year to two years.

No. An US registration protects your rights only within the geographic territory of US. For protection in foreign countries, you need to register your mark internationally.

Trademark infringement occurs when a business uses the same or similar name in commerce in a way that may lead to confusion with the trademark owner’s service/product. Trademark infringement is based on this element of “confusion” that is a function of the mark’s meaning. In general, infringement does not require the infringer to be a competitor, but infringement requires a similar product. If there has been an infringement of your trademark, you can file a claim under the federal and state laws. As the plaintiff, you have the burden to prove that the use of a similar mark by the defendant has created a likelihood of confusion.

Generally, fanciful and arbitrary marks are met with the least resistance by the USPTO. A fanciful mark, or coined word, does not have any specific meaning nor can in anyway be related to the goods or services it is associated with. It is formed with the sole purpose of being used as a trademark. Coined or fanciful marks are the easiest to register and also offer the best protection to the owner as it will be very difficult for the infringer to offer a logical explanation for the misuse. Further, arbitrary marks include a meaningful word, but will not have any relation to the product or service that it is associated with.

Yes, marks consisting of foreign wording may be registered as trademarks in the United States. However, under the doctrine of foreign equivalents, the foreign wording may be translated to English when the USPTO examines the trademark application.

A specimen is a sample of how the trademark is being used in commerce. In other words, a specimen is an actual example of the trademark that captures exactly how it would be encountered by purchasers of the goods or services. Proper specimens for goods include labels or tags affixed to the goods, containers for the goods, or a display associated with the goods. For services, a proper specimen may include advertisements, brochures, billboards, handbills, direct-mail leaflets, menus (for restaurants), or web pages that advertise services.

No. You may contact us any time for pricing, or general information. Please use our Trademark Search page to begin.