USPTO Issues Final Rule on Trademark Filing Fees for FY2025

On November 18, 2024, the USPTO issued its Final Rule relating to increases in its trademark filing fees for Fiscal Year 2025.  Setting and Adjusting Trademark Fees During Fiscal Year 2025, 89 Fed. Reg. 91062 (Nov. 18, 2024) (to be codified at 37 C.F.R. pts. 2, 7) (“Final Rule”).  This Final Rule sets or adjusts 28 trademark fees and introduces 7 new fees that had previously not existed.  A number of the re-set fees relate to paper filings, which account for less than 1% of new filings overall (see Final Rule at 91076 – Response to Comment 28), and will not be covered by this post as a result.  Instead, this post will focus on the “electronic filing” fees and, specifically, these new “surcharges” that are explained in more detail in this Final Rule. Continue reading

USPTO Announces Webinar on Avoiding Trademark Scams

On February 27, 2024, the USPTO announced a new webinar on avoiding scams directed to trademark owners, called “Trademark practitioners:  Avoid attorney scams and bad behavior” – to be held March 19, 2024 from 2pm ET to 3:30pm ET.  There’s no cost to attend, but you do need to register in advance:  https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/trademark-practitioners-avoid-attorney-scams-and-bad-behavior.

Even though the session appears to be directed specifically to “trademark practitioners” (i.e., outside trademark attorneys, their paralegals, in-house trademark attorneys and their paralegals, etc.), I would expect this session to also be relevant for corporate or business attorneys (in private practice or in-house), business owners and their compliance staff, and any other trademark owner interested in learning more. Continue reading

What to Expect from the U.S. Trademark Application Process

[Updates an earlier Post from December 30, 2015]

So, you’ve decided to launch a brand name in the U.S. and are contemplating registering it in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”).  What can you expect?  Not every application is the same, so there will be variations in exactly what happens in the prosecution of your application, but hopefully this article will serve as a “Trademark 101 Primer” to describe the basic process overall.  (Note – this post is for general information purposes only and does not provide any specific legal advice.  Contact your trademark attorney to discuss any areas of specific concern.)

Basics

What is a Trademark?  It’s a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.  A service mark performs the same function as a trademark, but applies to the source of a service rather than of a product.  (For simplicity, this post refers to trademarks and service marks collectively as “trademarks.”)

How Valuable is a Good Trademark?  The value of a good trademark lies in its ability to convey to the public a single source of a particular good or service.  The key is to develop a mark unique enough that customers associate it with your goods or services – and only your goods and services.  While temptingly simple, choosing a mark that just describes your goods and services will not create any trademark value.  Customers won’t know to distinguish your goods from others in the same market.  Instead, pick something that’s arbitrary, or otherwise completely unique.  Even coin a new word or phrase as the new brand for your goods or services.  Avoid choosing words with simple dictionary meanings, which you might be planning to use exactly as they are defined – because the risk is that you may be selecting a generic term, which can never develop any trademark meaning.

Can Rights Develop Based on Use?  Federal registration is not a requirement to protect trademarks in the U.S. – instead, rights in a particular trademark can be established simply based on use in connection with particular goods or services in the marketplace (aka “common law trademark rights”).  Nevertheless, federal registration offers more comprehensive protection than reliance upon common law rights, including providing nationwide notice of the owner’s claim to the mark and some other valuable presumptions. Continue reading

TTAB Refused Registration for Commonplace Phrase That Fails to Function as a Trademark

In order for a word, phrase or other device to operate as a trademark, it must convey to purchasers or potential purchasers a single source of the goods or services in connection with which the mark is used – or, simply put, it must be a “source indicator” for those goods and services.  This is true whether the trademark owner seeks to simply use a mark at common law or to apply for registration of the mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).

In a recent decision, the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “Board”) affirmed the Trademark Office Examining Attorney’s refusal to register the mark DESIGNED, SOURCED, AND BUILT IN THE USA in connection with the following goods:

Class 1:  “a wide variety of chemicals for a wide variety of industrial uses”;

Class 5:  “Hand-sanitizing preparations; disinfectants”;

Class 10:  “Face masks for use by health care providers; surgical masks; human face protectors, namely, transparent face shields for use in the medical and dental fields; sanitary masks for medical wellness purposes; respiratory masks for medical purposes; masks for use by medical personnel”; and

Class 20:  “Freestanding sneeze guards, namely, plastic shields for protection between retail clerks and customers; plastic shields to isolate retail clerks from customers; plastic shields to guard retail clerks against sneezes and coughs of customers; plastic dividers for protection between retail cashiers and customers”.

In re NuGeneration Technologies, LLC, 10 TTABVUE, Ser. No. 88852858, 88866690 (TTAB Apr. 7, 2022) (non-precedential) (appeal consolidated under Ser. No. 88852858); see also application file histories at Ser. Nos. 88/852,858 (Classes 1 and 5, filed March 30, 2020) and 88/866,690 (Classes 10 and 20, filed April 9, 2020).  Both applications were filed on an “intent to use” basis, but Applicant did not submit evidence of any use in commerce for either application.

The Examining Attorney essentially refused registration of the mark DESIGNED, SOURCED, AND BUILT IN THE USA on the grounds that it failed to function as a trademark – in particular because “the wording is merely informational and constitutes a commonplace phrase that is widely used in the marketplace.”  10 TTABVUE 2 (Ser. No. 88/852,858).

In affirming the refusal to register the mark, the Board agreed with the Examiner that the phrase simply conveyed “information to the consumer to support American made goods and services” that also “taps into the American consumer’s desire to purchase products of higher quality and better design, that are durable and sourced locally, ensuring safety & quality at every step of the supply chain.”  Id. at 16-17.

The Board disagreed with the Applicant’s position that the Examiner’s evidence of common usage of separate components of the mark (e.g., “designed in the USA” and “sourced in the USA”) was insufficient to show that the longer phrase, DESIGNED, SOURCED AND BUILT IN THE USA was in “widespread use.” Id. at 14.  In so doing, the Board explained that the evidence of use of these components, spanning multiple industries in connection with varied products, was “sufficient to show a marketing environment where consumers are accustomed to the use of these similar informational phrases by businesses.”  Id.

By way of comparison, the Board pointed to other marks that had been refused registration as commonly-used phrases in business that convey support for an American ideal – and do not operate as an indication of a single source of specific goods or services:

  • GOD BLESS THE USA – Ser. No. 87/168,719 (In re Lee Greenwood, 2020 USPQ2d 11439, at *3 (TTAB 2020) (considered simply an “expression of patriotism, affection, or affiliation” with the US))
  • INVESTING IN AMERICAN JOBS – Ser. No. 86/261,962 (In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 129 USPQ2d 1148, 1156 (TTAB 2019))
  • PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA, Ser. No. 74/375,437 (In re Remington Prods., 3 USPQ2d 1714, 1715 (TTAB 1987)) *Westlaw account required to access this decision.

Interestingly, the Board relied on the analysis in the 1987 Remington decision for the proposition that, “[i]t is common knowledge that today’s American marketplace has a surplus of foreign-made goods and that American manufacturers are anxious to encourage purchasers to give preference to American products.”  Id. at 16 (quoting In re Remington Prods., at 1715).  Despite the passage of 35 years, this marketplace reality remains the same today.

Refusal to register the phrase DESIGNED, SOURCED AND BUILT IN THE USA was affirmed as “merely informational matter” that would not be perceived “as a source of Applicant’s goods.”  Id. at 17.  Essentially, the Board concluded that this phrase failed to function as a trademark that would allow the “relevant public, i.e., purchasers or potential purchasers of Applicant’s goods” to perceive the phrase as “identifying the source or origin of Applicant’s goods.”  See id. at 5.

Recommended Additional Reading:

  • USPTO’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) § 904.07(b) (Whether the Specimen Shows the Applied-for Mark Functioning as a Mark)
  • TMEP § 1202.04 (Informational Matter)
  • TMEP § 1202.17(c) (Failure to Function)
  • TMEP § 1301.02(a) (Matter that Does Not Function as a Service Mark)

Common Questions: What Kind of IP Protection Should I Pursue?

We frequently receive questions from business owners asking for intellectual property (“IP”) advice that combine legally unrelated terms, such as asking whether they should “copyright their logo”, or “trademark their idea”, or “get a patent on their design”.*  While it’s possible for IP owners to “layer” their protection – in other words, the same design might be protected under copyright and trademark law, and the same product configuration might be subject to a design patent as well as copyright and/or trademark protection – in many cases, a rights holder may only be exploring one kind of IP protection at a given time. This post is intended to simply define basic terms (particularly under U.S. law) to help foster conversations regarding obtaining the right protections for your IP – but if you need specific advice about what kinds of IP rights apply to your specific circumstances, you should talk with a lawyer who has experience in this area.

* Note that in some circumstances, it is possible to obtain a design patent – so asking to “patent a design” does not necessarily lead to an impossibility or a mismatch between the type of work and the applicable law. However, a mismatch occurs when the question asks whether unique artwork could be patented – where the questioner was really asking about obtaining a utility patent to protect an artistic work that has no functional elements. Continue reading