As a business owner, you know the value and importance of protecting your brand. Utilizing the trademark registration process is one way to do so.
To attain a valid trademark, you must include an accurate and detailed description of the goods and services associated with your business. This blog will discuss why the goods and services description is critical to include in a trademark application and what information should be included.
As you probably know, a trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A servicemark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods. The term “trademark” is often used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.
The use of a trademark in commerce must be associated with the sale of goods or services. The trademark registration process allows business owners to register their trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). The USPTO has a series of requirements that must be met for registration of trademark.
A complete and accurate description of the goods and services is one of the requirements for registration. The description of goods and services must be specific enough so that USPTO examiners and the general public can understand what goods and services the trademark covers. A broad or vague description of goods and services is not permissible and will likely result in a rejection of the application.
In addition, the description of goods and services must be consistent with the identification of goods and services in the application. The identification is the portion of the application in which the applicant lists all of the goods and/or services that they intend to register. The description is where the applicant provides more information about each good and/or service. The description must be consistent with the identification, as this can impact the registration process.
An inaccurate goods and services description can:
– lead to the rejection of the application
– make it difficult to obtain registration
– result in a partial registration
All of these outcomes can be frustrating for the applicant, and can lead to wasted time and resources. It is therefore important to take care in ensuring that the description is accurate and consistent with the identification.
Larson & Larson takes great care when crafting trademark applications. The result is an application that can be allowed by the examiner and enforced by the courts.
Please contact us to set a time to discuss how we may assist you with your trademark applications.