Acceptable Specimens for a Trademark Application

One of the requirements to be granted a trademark registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is to establish that the mark is being used in the United States for the goods stated in the trademark application. This requires proving to a Trademark Examiner that the mark is actually being used by showing them acceptable “specimens” or examples such use.

This often creates a stumbling block. Not all material that has a trademark on it is acceptable as a specimen. Some types of specimens are improper and will always be rejected. A list of generally acceptable specimens for a trademark application including goods is shown below. This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it entirely reliable, unfortunately.  This is because, in some circumstances, one of the specimens below will not be sufficient. Hire a local trademark attorney with whom you can talk more about trademark specimens.

• An acceptable specimen includes a label, tag, or container for the goods, or a display associated with the goods. The terminology “applied to the containers for the goods” means applied to any type of commercial packaging that is normal for the particular goods as they move in trade. Thus, a showing of the trademark on the normal commercial package for the particular goods is usually an acceptable specimen.
• In most cases, where a trademark is applied to the goods or the containers for the goods by means of labels, then an image of the label itself is usually considered an acceptable specimen.
• Shipping or mailing labels may be accepted if they are affixed to the goods or to the containers for the goods and if proper trademark usage is shown.
• Stamping a trademark on the goods, on the container, or on tags or labels attached to the goods or containers, is generally a proper method of trademark affixation. The trademark may be imprinted in the body of the goods, as with metal stamping; it may be applied by a rubber stamp; or it may be inked on by using a stencil or template. When a trademark is used in this manner, photographs or facsimiles showing the actual stamping or stenciling are acceptable as specimens.
• Displays associated with the goods essentially comprise point-of-sale material such as banners, shelf-talkers, window displays, menus, and similar devices. Such displays should catch the attention of purchasers and prospective purchasers. The display should prominently display the mark in question and associate it with, or relate it to, the goods.
• In appropriate cases, a catalog is an acceptable specimen of trademark use, provided it: (1) includes a picture or a sufficient textual description of the relevant goods; (2) shows the mark in association with the goods; and (3) includes the information necessary to order the goods (e.g., an order form or a phone number, mailing address, or e-mail address for placing orders). However, the inclusion of a phone number, Internet address, and/or mailing address merely as part of corporate contact information on an advertisement describing the product is not in itself sufficient to meet the criteria for a display associated with the goods. There must be an offer to accept orders or instructions on how to place an order.
• A web-page display specimen “must in some way evince that the mark is ‘associated’ with the goods and serves as an indicator of source.” Assessing the “mark-goods” association on a web page involves many variables, including the prominence and placement of the mark, the content and layout of the web page, and the overall impression the web page creates.
• Advertising material is generally not acceptable as a specimen for goods. Any material whose function is merely to tell the prospective purchaser about the goods, or to promote the sale of the goods, is unacceptable to support trademark use. The following types of items are generally considered advertising, and unless they comprise point-of-sale material, are not acceptable as specimens of use on goods: advertising circulars and brochures; price lists; announcements; press releases; listings in trade directories; and business cards. Moreover, material used by the applicant to conduct its internal business is unacceptable as a specimen of use on goods. These materials include all documents whose sole function is to carry out the applicant’s business dealings, such as invoices, bill heads, waybills, warranties, and business stationery.