TEAS help

Further Information: For further information on any of the topics listed below, see the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP).

Help: Help topics will open in this window and relate to the specific section in which you are working. When you are done with the help topic, simply close the window. If you are a first-time filer, you are encouraged to visit our Trademark Basics section. For more information about trademark examination, see the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP), or contact the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) at 800-786-9199 (press 1, toll-free) or 571-272-9250 (local).

Help File Missing: The help file you have requested is missing. For more information please see the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP), or contact the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) at 800-786-9199 (press 1, toll-free) or 571-272-9250 (local).

.jpg and .pdf File Attachment Information: In order to attach a specimen, a foreign registration, or other evidence applicant must first save or scan the document(s) as a .jpg or .pdf file. Applicant can then click on the browse button on the form to select the .jpg or .pdf file stored on the drive that contains the appropriate file. Attachments in any other format will be rejected.

§15 Affidavit of Incontestability: A sworn statement filed by the owner of a mark registered on the Principal Register, claiming "incontestable" rights in the mark for the goods/services specified. An "incontestable" registration is conclusive evidence of the following:

  1. validity of the registered mark,
  2. the registration of the mark,
  3. the owner's ownership of the mark, and
  4. the owner's exclusive right to use the mark with the goods/services.

The claim of incontestability is subject to certain limited exceptions set forth in §§15 and 33(b) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1065 and 1115(b).

Note: Filing a §15 Declaration is optional; however, certain rules govern when one may be filed. A §15 Affidavit may not be filed until the mark has been in continuous use in commerce for at least five (5) consecutive years subsequent to the date of registration for marks registered under the Act of 1946 (and subsequent to the date of publication under §12(c) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1062(c), for marks registered under the Acts of 1905 and 1881 for which the benefits of the Act of 1946 have been claimed). The §15 Affidavit must be executed and filed within one (1) year following a five (5)-year period of continuous use of the mark in commerce. Marks registered on the Supplemental Register are not eligible for claims of incontestable rights under §15. See TMEP §1605 for more detailed information.

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, Based on Evidence: Use this to enter the following statement: "The mark has become distinctive of the goods/services, as demonstrated by the submitted evidence." You must submit evidence to support this claim as .jpg or .pdf files (the form allows the attachment of up to 50 images.)

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, Based on Prior Registration(s): Enter registration number(s) for the same or similar marks. Do not use any commas within the number. If more than one entry, separate each with a space, with no punctuation. e.g., (1247873 1324638 1462387). The claim of acquired distinctiveness based on prior registration(s) will appear as follows: The mark has become distinctive of the goods/services as evidenced by the ownership on the Principal Register for the same mark for related goods or services of U.S. Registration No(s). ____________."

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, Based on Use: Use this to add the following statement: "The mark has become distinctive of the goods/services through the applicant's substantially exclusive and continuous use in commerce that the U.S. Congress may lawfully regulate for at least the five years immediately before the date of this statement."

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, IN PART, Based on Evidence: Enter the portion of the mark to which the claim of acquired distinctiveness applies. The claim will appear as follows: "_______ has become distinctive of the goods/services, as demonstrated by the submitted evidence." You must submit evidence to support this claim as .jpg or .pdf files (the form allows the attachment of up to 50 images.)

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, IN PART, Based on Prior Registration(s): In the first box, enter the portion of the mark to which the claim of acquired distinctiveness applies. In the second box, enter registration number(s) for the same or legally equivalent marks. Do not use any commas within the number. If more than one entry, separate each with a space, with no punctuation. e.g., 1247873 1324638 1462387. The claim will appear as follows: "The wording __________ has become distinctive of the goods/services as evidenced by the ownership on the Principal Register for the same mark for related goods or services of U.S. Registration No(s). ____________."

§2(f) Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness, IN PART, Based on Use: Enter the portion of the mark to which the claim of acquired distinctiveness applies. The claim will appear as follows: "The wording __________ in the mark has become distinctive of the goods/services through the applicant's substantially exclusive and continuous use in commerce that the U.S. Congress may lawfully regulate for at least the five years immediately before the date of this statement. "

§8 Affidavit of Use: A sworn statement filed by the owner of a registration that the mark is in use in commerce. It must be filed by the current owner of the registration, and the USPTO must receive it during the following time periods:

 

  1. At the end of the 6th year after the date of registration (or the date of publication under 15 U.S.C. §1062(c) for registrations issued under the Acts of 1905 or 1881 that have claimed the benefits of the Act of 1946); AND
  2. At the end of each successive 10-year period after the date of registration.

There is a six-month grace period. If these rules and deadlines are not met, the USPTO will cancel the registration. See TMEP §1604 for more detailed information.

§9 Renewal Application: A sworn document that the owner of a registration must file to avoid the expiration of a registration. Federal trademark registrations issued on or after November 16, 1989, remain in force for 10 years, and may be renewed for 10-year periods. Trademark registrations issued or renewed prior to November 16, 1989 remain in force for 20 years, and may be renewed for 10-year periods. Trademark owners have a total of eighteen (18) months to file a §9 Renewal Application, namely, one year prior to the registration expiration date or during the 6-month grace period immediately after the date of expiration. If the §9 Renewal Application is not filed or is filed after the grace period ends, the registration will expire. Because the due date of the 10-year Declaration coincides with the due date of the §9 Renewal Application, the USPTO created the electronic form Combined declaration of use in commerce/application for renewal of registration of mark under §§8 & 9. See TMEP §1606 for more detailed information.

37 C.F.R. §2.63 Reexamination: After the applicant's response, the application will be reexamined or reconsidered. If registration is again refused or any formal requirement(s) is repeated, but the examiner's action is not stated to be final, the applicant may respond again. The applicant may also respond by filing a timely Petition to Director for relief from a formal requirement if:

 

  1. The requirement is repeated, but the examiner's action is not made final, and the subject matter of the requirement is appropriate for Petition to Director (see §2.146(b)); or
  2. the examiner's action is made final and such action is limited to subject matter appropriate for Petition to Director.

If the petition is denied, the applicant shall have until six months from the date of the Office action which repeated the requirement or made it final or thirty days from the date of the decision on the petition, whichever date is later, to comply with the requirement. A formal requirement which is the subject of a petition decided by the Director may not subsequently be the subject of an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Abandonment of Mark: After the commencement of an opposition, concurrent use, or interference proceeding, if the applicant files a written abandonment of the application or of the mark without the written consent of every adverse party to the proceeding, judgment shall be entered against the applicant. The written consent of an adverse party may be signed by the adverse party or by the adverse party's attorney or other authorized representative.

Add a new Class of Goods and/or Services: The filer may add a new class if the goods and/or services in this new class existed in the original application or later amended identification, but in an incorrect class. An entirely new good and/or service cannot be added, because it would exceed the scope of the original filing or amended identification. Any new class requires the payment of an additional filing fee for each class. For example: If the original identification listed "shirts, jackets, handkerchiefs" in Class 25, then the filer could add Class 24 and list "handkerchiefs" in this class.

Adding Goods/Services: If any desired item does not appear in the list displayed on this screen, click on the "Add Goods/Services by Searching ID Manual" button. This will return you to the search portion of the form. Note: Your last previous search term will be displayed; simply delete the term and conduct a new search, and insert the new entries.

Additional Fee: Each separate international class of goods and/or services requires its own fee, even if the mark is the same. If your goods and/or services are properly categorized in more than one international class, but you have not paid the filing fee(s) for all classes, you must now pay the additional fee(s) for all additional classes if you wish to continue prosecution of the other classes. You will be able to designate whether the fee(s) to be paid are for TEAS Plus or TEAS Standard. You will also be able to pay the required $100 fee per class if the examining attorney has determined that the application filed TEAS Plus did not, in fact, satisfy all of the application requirements for that filing option.

Additional or New Specimen(s): Additional or new specimen(s) may be attached for each international class showing the mark as used in commerce on or in connection with any item listed in the description of goods and/or services. This may be to replace a specimen already of record, or to submit a new specimen, either because the original application did not include a specimen or because a new class is being added, under a Section 1(a), Use in Commerce, basis. Additional or New Specimen(s) must include a statement verifying when their use began, along with an affidavit or a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. If accurate, add a statement verifying when use of the specimen began by selecting the statement below.

Additional Statements: This section is for the entry of various statements that may pertain to the mark. To select a statement, check the box and enter the specific information relevant to your mark. The following are the texts of the most commonly asserted statements:

Advanced Search Query Terms: Queries can be comprised of two different kinds of terms: single terms (e.g., clothing, soup) and phrases (e.g., "computer software"). Separate multiple single terms by commas or spaces; enclose phrases in quotation marks.

Searching Using Wildcards: Single character wildcard searching can be performed using the question mark character (?). By replacing a single character in a search term with the wildcard question mark, the search will retrieve all terms that match the original term with the single character replaced. E.g., a search for "te?t" will find "test" or "text." Please note, a character must appear in the place containing the ? for the search to find the term. Multiple character wildcard searches may be performed using the asterisk character (*). Placing the wildcard asterisk in a search term will retrieve all terms with no characters up to an unlimited number of characters where the wildcard asterisk was placed. For example, a search for "comput*" will find "compute," "computer," "computers," "computerized," etc. Note: Neither of the wildcard characters (* or ?) can be used as the very first character of a search term.

Proximity Searches: To find terms that are within a specific distance of each other, use the tilde character (~) at the end of a phrase. For example, to search for "computer" and "manuals" within 4 words of each other in an identification of goods, you would enter the search query "computer manuals"~4.

Boolean operators: You can use 5 Boolean operators to combine terms: AND, "+", OR, NOT and "-". Note: All Boolean operators must be entered in all capital letters.

  1. OR is the default conjunction operator, which means that the system presumes that you meant OR if you did not use any of the other operators and left a space between terms. The OR operator finds all matching entries where either of the terms exists within the identification of goods/services. E.g., to search for identification of goods entries that contain either "computer software" or just "computer," you would enter the search query "computer software" OR computer.
  2. AND matches entries where both terms exist anywhere in the text of an identification of goods/services. E.g., to search for identification of goods entries that contain both "cloth" and "bib," you would enter the search query cloth AND bib.
  3. (+) The plus Symbol requires that the term immediately after the "+"character exist somewhere in the identification of goods/services entry. E.g., to search for identification of goods entries that must contain "software" and may contain "computer," you would enter the search query "+software computer."
  4. NOT excludes identification of goods/services entries that contain the term after NOT. E.g., to search for entries that contain "computer" but not "software," you would enter the search query computer NOT software. Please note: the NOT operator can only be used when you are searching two or more terms.
  5. (-) The minus Symbol excludes identification of goods/services entries that contain the term that appears immediately after the symbol. E.g., to search for entries that contain "computer software" but not "temporary, you would enter the search query "computer software"-"temporary."

All Goods and/or Services in Use: Select this box if the owner is using the mark in commerce on or in connection with all of the goods and/or services identified in the Allegation of Use, Notice of Allowance, or existing registration.

All Submissions Related to That Filing: For example,

 

  1. if Attorney A files the §8 affidavit (between the 5th and 6th years after registration), and Attorney B files the Combined Sections 8&9 (between the 9th and 10th years after registration), the USPTO will presume that Attorney B is the appointed attorney; i.e., no new appointment of Attorney B is required.
  2. if Attorney A files the §8, and then the USPTO issues an Office action related to the §8 filing, the USPTO will NOT then accept a response to that Office Action filed by Attorney B, absent the filing by the registrant of a revocation of Attorney A, and the appointment of Attorney B.

Amendment Acceptable and Republication of the Mark is NOT Required: The proposed change(s) will be entered, and the mark will continue directly on to the scheduled registration date (or, if the filing basis is intent to use, the issuance of a notice of allowance).

Amendment Acceptable but Republication of the Mark is Required: A USPTO paralegal specialist will contact you. If you agree to republication, the paralegal will enter the amendment and set a new publication date; a new notice of publication will be issued. If you do not agree to republication, the changes will not be entered and the application will proceed to the scheduled issue date.

Amendment not Acceptable: A USPTO paralegal specialist will provide written notification explaining why the amendment is unacceptable.

  1. If this is a §§1(a), 44 or 66(a) application and no opposition has been filed and a registration certificate has not yet issued, the only recourse is to file a Petition to Director requesting that jurisdiction be restored to the examining attorney to consider the merits of the amendment. 37 C.F.R. §§2.84 and 2.146. Note: No petition is required if the amendment was filed during the period after approval for publication and before publication. The application will be returned to the examining attorney to accept or refuse the amendment, as appropriate.
  2. If this is a §1(b) application and no opposition has been filed and no notice of allowance has issued, applicant may:
    1. resubmit the amendment at the time of filing the statement of use; or
    2. file a Petition to Director requesting that jurisdiction be restored to the examining attorney to consider the merits of the amendment. 37 C.F.R. §§2.84 and 2.146.

Any Petition to Director should be filed within six (6) weeks of the publication date to ensure timely processing. Thereafter, any requests for amendment must be filed as a Section 7 Request.

Amendment of Application after Notice of Allowance Issues: After issuance of the Notice of Allowance and before filing the Statement of Use, the only permissible amendment is one that:

  1. deletes goods and/or services,
  2. deletes a basis in a multiple-basis application, and/or
  3. changes the attorney and/or address.

Any other amendment will be denied unless the applicant files the amendment with the statement of use or files a Petition to Director to waive the rule, to permit the examining attorney to examine the amendment during the period after the notice of allowance has issued and before the statement of use is filed. For further information see TMEP §1107.

Amount: Enter the total fee amount that is being paid (either by credit card or that is to be charged to a USPTO deposit account).

Applicant or Entity Information: Use this section to change the applicant's name; the applicant's address; the applicant's phone number; the applicant's entity type; the applicant's state/country of citizenship; and/or email address.

Application Fee for Allegation of Use Form: Use this option ONLY if you have already filed an Allegation of Use and the fee payment was deficient, and you must now make additional payment so that the overall fee amount is correct for the existing submission.

Application Fee for TEAS Form: The filing fee for an online TEAS application for registration of a trademark or service mark is one fee for each class of goods/services. The current filing fee is on the Trademark Processing Fees section of the USPTO Fee Schedule.

Application Fee for TEAS Plus filing option: The filing fee for TEAS Plus has the lowest filing fee per class of goods/services. To qualify for this lower fee, the applicant must file a complete application using USPTO's TEAS Plus filing option.

The current application per class filing fee is on the Trademark Processing Fees section of the USPTO Fee Schedule. Additional information on the requirements for qualifying for TEAS Plus reduced fee is available in TMEP §819.

Appointed by Previously Recognized Representative: The applicant's appointed U.S. attorney has filed a power of attorney appointing you as an associate attorney in this matter. For example, Attorney A was originally appointed in the application (either singly or in conjunction with "other appointed attorneys"). Attorney A appoints Attorney B, who was not appointed initially and who is not an associate of Attorney A's firm. The USPTO will recognize Attorney B as one of applicant's attorneys if a power of attorney signed by Attorney A is filed with the USPTO before Attorney B appears on behalf of the applicant.

Appropriate box(es): Each box corresponds to a specific section within the form. After reviewing what the USPTO official has requested in the Office action, check the box(es) to retrieve the section(s) of the form that will permit you to enter the information required for a complete response. These sections will appear after the Next button is selected.

Argument(s): If the examining attorney has refused your mark for any substantive legal reason, you are entitled to submit arguments in support of registration. You should simply and completely address the points raised by the examining attorney in the form. You are not required to provide case law support, although you may, as appropriate. If the examining attorney is convinced by your arguments, the examining attorney will withdraw the refusal(s). If not convinced, and assuming there are no other outstanding issues, the examining attorney will issue a final refusal. Your options at that point are

  1. appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative adjudication board; or
  2. not respond, which will lead to abandonment of the application.

You may still be entitled to use this mark as your "trademark" or "service mark"; however, you would not have the rights associated with a federal registration. You should seek the advice of a U.S.-licensed attorney experienced in U.S. trademark matters for a more complete explanation of anything in this form you do not understand or for any other legal advice relating to the use and/or registration of your trademark or service mark. The USPTO cannot recommend an individual attorney or law firm.

Associate: This option is proper where:

  1. another attorney who is a member of the same firm as the appointed attorney is filing the response, or
  2. an in-house counsel is the appointed attorney and an associated in-house counsel is filing the response.

When firms merge or otherwise alter their composition, if the originally appointed attorney remains a member of the new firm, all attorneys in the new firm are associates of the appointed attorney and are proper respondents.

Attach Copy of Standards: Attach a .jpg or .pdf explaining the standards that the applicant uses to determine whether particular goods or services will, in fact, be certified.

Attach Foreign Registration/Translation: You must attach a scanned image, as multiple .jpg or .pdf image files, of the foreign registration certificate. A certified copy of the foreign registration is not required. If the foreign registration is not in English, you must also provide a translation of the foreign registration with the copy of the foreign registration. The translator should sign the translation, but need not swear to the translation. The foreign registration(s) must be in force at the time of filing of the U.S. application, and must be "live" at the time the United States issues the registration based on that foreign registration.

Bar Membership: Under 37 C.F.R. §§2.11, 11.1, attorneys appointed by a trademark owner/holder must confirm that they are an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any U.S. state/Commonwealth/territory and provide their bar membership information.

Black and White Image: Applicant or registrant may submit a black-and-white image or a grayscale image in the .jpg format. If applicant or registrant is scanning physical media, the scanner settings should be set to create a black-and-white or grayscale .jpg not a color image. To decrease the color depth in an existing .jpg image to black-and-white or grayscale, you can use a free graphic viewer, e.g., Irfanview. If you cuts and pastes an image into Irfanview, you can decrease the color depth to two colors by following these steps: 1) Select "Image" from the tool bar; 2) Select "Decrease Color Depth" from the drop-down menu; 3) Select "2 colors, black and white;" 4) Click "ok;" 5) Confirm view of image as a pure black and white image; 6) Select "File" from the tool bar and select "Save As;" 7) Select "Save as grayscale JPEG" that appears in a popup window titled "JPEG/GIF save options"; 8) Save the image as a .jpg; and 9) Attach this image to your application as your proper black-and-white mark image. If you are not able to reproduce your mark as a pure black-and-white image, you should seek the assistance of a graphic artist. Note: The form will reject a black-and-white image that has colors associated with it. Black-and-white images with a color claim are acceptable, but drawings that are lined for color are not; applicant or registrant must submit a color image.

Certification Statement: Applicant must enter a statement of the characteristic, standard, or other feature that is certified or intended to be certified by the mark, e.g., a particular regional origin of the goods, a characteristic of the goods or services, or that labor was performed by a particular group. See TMEP § 1306.06.03(a).

Change an Existing Classification Number: If the original goods and/or services were listed in the incorrect international class, the overall classification can be changed with this form. If the examining attorney has proposed a classification, you should adopt that class. If the number of classes that the examining attorney recommends exceeds the number of fees that have been paid, you must either limit the goods and/or services to the number of classes paid or pay the additional fees. Note that when a class is changed, and the information is viewed at validation, e.g., in the Input format or Text Form format, it will be displayed as if the class had first been deleted entirely, and then a new class added (with that "new" class showing the new classification number). Although displayed as an "added" class, it is NOT truly a new class and no additional fee is required. Further information about goods and services and classification may be found at Identifying Your Goods and/or Services and the Trademark ID manual.

Change of Correspondence Address: To change the Correspondence Address, i.e., the email address to which the USPTO should send any correspondence, update the email address of the appointed attorney, if any, otherwise update the email address of the trademark owner. To change an actual Power of Attorney use the Change Address or Representation form. To change the owner’s name or to transfer ownership of an application or registration from one party to another, file an assignment using the Assignment Center. See TMEP Chapter 500.

Change of Correspondence and Attorney Information: Enter the new Attorney Information in the Attorney Information Section. The email address of the appointed attorney will automatically populate the Primary Email Address for Correspondence. Use the Change Address or Representation form to change either an actual Power of Attorney or Appointment of Domestic Representative.

Change or Correct Your Mark: If you wish to change your mark, including correction an error in what you presented in the application as the "mark," you may submit an amended version of the mark. This requires submission of an amended drawing, and if appropriate, inclusion of a new .jpg image file. Not all proposed corrections are accepted. The Office will only permit the "new" mark after determining that the change does not amount to a material alteration of the mark. Whether the amendment is acceptable will only be assessed during the course of normal examination of the filing, and will NOT be immediately known. If the proposed amendment is not accepted, the filer must withdraw the amendment. The filer may submit an entirely new application for the desired mark; the USPTO does NOT refund the fee(s) for the original filing that was incorrect.

City: Enter the city. If the address is in a foreign country, also enter the territory, state, or province in the City field e.g., Toronto ON.

City: Enter the name of the city in which the attorney is located. If the address is in a foreign country, also enter the territory, state, or province in the City field e.g., Toronto ON.

City: Enter the city of the owner's updated address. If the address is in a foreign country, in addition to the city, enter the territory, state, or province in the City field, e.g., Toronto ON.

City: Enter the name of the city in which the correspondent is located. If the address is in a foreign country, also enter the territory, state, or province in the City field, e.g., Toronto ON.

City: Enter the name of the city in which the entity is located. If the address is in a foreign country, also enter the territory, state, or province in the City field e.g., Toronto ON.

City: Enter the name of the city in which the domestic representative is located.

Classification and Listing of Goods/Services: If the examining attorney has indicated that the goods and/or services in the application are in the incorrect international class, the applicant must adopt the classification(s) proposed by the examining attorney. If the number of classes that the examining attorney indicates exceeds the number of fees that have been paid, applicant must either limit the goods and/or services to the number of classes paid, or pay the additional fees. If the examining attorney has also indicated that your original listing of goods and/or services is not acceptable, applicant must enter a new listing of goods and/or services. Applicant must enter the complete listing of goods and/or services regardless of the extent of changes made from the original listing, i.e., even if only one word has been changed, applicant must repeat the entire listing with relevant changes incorporated in its filing. If the examining attorney has suggested an identification of goods and/or services, applicant may adopt that wording, otherwise applicant must compose a similarly acceptable identification of goods and/or services based on the Trademark ID manual. Note: While the original listing can be changed, it may not be broadened. Any new goods and/or services must be within the scope of the original listing.

Common Commercial Name: Enter only the common commercial name for the specific goods and/or services associated with the mark; e.g., "computer software for accounting purposes;" or "shirts, pants, and shoes." While you may be able to amend the listing during prosecution of your application to clarify a broad recitation, if the initial listing is too ambiguous, you will not receive a filing date and no amendment will be permitted (i.e., even though the electronic form would transmit and you would be assigned a serial number, after initial review at the USPTO, it may be determined that assignment of a filing date was not warranted, and your application would be returned, along with the filing fee). Also, you can never expand the listing beyond the scope of what has been presented in the original filing; the addition of goods and/or services would require a new application filing.

If the goods and/or services are classified in more than one class, the goods and/or services should be listed in ascending numerical class order. If possible, you should use a listing(s) directly from the USPTO's on-line Goods and Services Manual. However, do NOT include the prefatory data (e.g., G 028 A 4/2/91) from the manual listing; use only the actual goods or services language. Also, you must substitute specific wording for any informational wording that appears within parentheses and/or brackets in the manual listing; e.g., the manual listing of "Computer software [specify the function of the program]" should be entered in the application as, e.g., "Computer software for word processing."

Concurrent Use: Enter the appropriate concurrent use information, e.g., specify the goods and the geographic area for which registration is sought. For specific requirements, see TMEP §1207.04. Note: When filing an application using the TEAS Plus filing option, the applicant must enter all relevant information related to a concurrent use claim, if applicable under the facts of the application.

Confirm Response: Unless the only outstanding issue was a failure to submit a signed application, it is not acceptable merely to submit the signature information here; i.e., we will not interpret a signed form as somehow "incorporating by reference" all of the changes requested in the Office Action. All of the changes must be clearly spelled out in an actual response.

Conforming Amendments: A conforming amendment to other information in the registration affected by the proposed amendment, including disclaimers, mark descriptions, color claims, color descriptions, stippling, and lining statements, may be appropriate if a mark is being amended. For example, if the mark is "XYZ INC." with a disclaimer of "INC." of record in the registration, and the owner proposes to amend the mark simply to be "XYZ," the proposed amendment should also request that the disclaimer of "INC." be deleted, since that element is no longer part of the mark. If a request does not include all necessary conforming amendments, the Post Registration examiner will issue an Office action requiring the amendment(s).

Corporation: Select the owner's state or country of incorporation.

Correct Information Pertaining to the Basis for Filing or Registration of the Mark: Use this form or answer yes to this question to make minor corrections. For example,

  1. If the mark has published with the correct basis, but it does not appear correctly on the registration certificate.
  2. To correct the foreign registration number or the country that issued the registration, if supported by the record.

Do NOT use this form where the omission of a basis is due to USPTO error. If the error is due to USPTO error, follow the instructions found in TMEP §1609.10(a).

Correspondent Attorney Name: The appointed attorney is responsible for the filing of the application and will receive all formal correspondence from the USPTO. Once appointed, all communication must be with this attorney, and NOT directly with the applicant.

Correspondent Name for Letter of Protest: Enter the name of the person who is responsible for completing the Letter of Protest and to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Country of Foreign Filing: Enter the country by selecting the proper entry in the drop down menu.

Country of Foreign Registration: Enter the country which issued the foreign registration, by selecting the proper entry in the drop-down menu.

Country: Enter the country in which the address of the correspondent is located by selecting the proper entry from the drop-down menu.

Country: Enter the country in which the entity is located by selecting from the drop-down menu.

Country: Enter the country in which the person who is responsible for completing the Letter of Protest is located by selecting the proper country from the menu.

Country: Enter the country of the owner's updated address by selecting the proper country from the menu.

Country: Enter the country in which the attorney is located by selecting the proper entry from the drop-down menu.

Credit Card: If you select the credit card payment option, you will be prompted later in the process to enter your credit card information (the type of credit card, your name and billing address, and your card number and expiration date). Read about our accepted payment methods.

Date of First Use of Mark Anywhere: Enter the date (two digits each for both the month and day, and four digits for the year) on which the applicant first used the mark in commerce anywhere. If the date consists of only a month and year, or only a year, you must enter "00" in the appropriate spaces; e.g., 00/00/1989. Please note this date may be earlier than, or the same as, the date of the first use of the mark in commerce date; also, the entry is interpreted as "at least as early as . . . ." This use date may reflect use by the applicant, the applicant's related company, a licensee of applicant, or applicant's predecessor in interest.

Date of First Use of Mark in Commerce: Enter the date (two digits each for both the month and day, and four digits for the year) on which the applicant first used the mark in commerce that the U.S. Congress may regulate (i.e., interstate commerce; territorial commerce, e.g., with Guam or American Samoa; or commerce between the United States and a foreign country). If the date consists of only a month and year, or only a year, you must enter "00" in the appropriate spaces; e.g., 00/00/1989. The entry is interpreted as "at least as early as . . . ." This use date may reflect use by the applicant, the applicant's related company, a licensee of applicant, or applicant's predecessor in interest; however, current use must be being made at the time of the application by the applicant, the applicant's related company, or a licensee of applicant.

Date Signed: For direct signature, the current date is populated automatically when the box is selected, and this date cannot be altered. If signed using document-signing software, the date may be auto-generated by such software; but if not, you must enter the date signed. The text form is designed to facilitate signature/date by another party, and no other data can be manipulated; i.e., the "web-based" form may be completed and validated, and then the resulting "text" form may be either:

  1. emailed to the proper signatory as a "hyperlink" (no "downloading" of a portable form is required). The signatory will sign and date the application by affixing the "electronic signature," consisting of an arbitrary alpha-numeric combination placed between two forward slash symbols (e.g., /john smith/). The signed version automatically is returned to the original preparer, who can then complete the submission process to the USPTO; or
  2. printed out and then mailed or faxed to the signatory, who will sign the form in the traditional "pen-and-ink" manner, and then mail or fax the signed form back to the preparer. The handwritten signed version should then be scanned and reattached as a .jpg or .pdf image file (the only acceptable image formats) to the original electronic application; the complete application can then be validated and filed electronically.

Dates of Use: Any addition of, or change to, dates of use must be supported by declaration, signed by someone properly authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant under 37 C.F.R. § 2.33(a). In an application under Section 1(a) of the Trademark Act, the applicant may not amend to specify a date of use that is later than the filing date of the application. In an application under Section 1(b) of the Act in which an amendment to allege use is filed, the applicant may not amend the dates of use to recite dates of use that are subsequent to the filing of the amendment to allege use. However, the applicant may withdraw the amendment to allege use. In an application under Section 1(b) in which a statement of use is filed, the applicant may not amend to recite dates of use that are subsequent to the expiration of the statutory deadline for filing a statement of use (i.e., within six months of the issue date of the notice of allowance or before the expiration of an extension of time for filing a statement of use).

Note: If the original application was filed under Section 1(b), Intent to Use, DO NOT use this form to add use dates to the record, instead use an Allegation of Use form.

DBA/AKA/TA/Formerly: If the owner of the mark is doing business as (DBA), is also known as (AKA), is trading as (TA), or was formerly known as another name, then please enter that name in this field.

Declaration Signature: Under Trademark Rule 2.33, A person who is properly authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant is:

  1. a person with legal authority to bind the applicant
  2. a person with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on behalf of the applicant
  3. a U.S.-licensed attorney as defined in Section 11.1 of this chapter who has an actual or implied written or verbal power of attorney from the applicant.

Delete Class Entirely: The class you wish to delete will display within the goods/services section of the form, with all existing goods/services presented. You must delete all of the existing entry and replace with the specific wording "DELETE CLASS ENTIRELY." Do NOT simply leave the field blank, as you will receive an error message indicating that you have failed to specify goods/services to be deleted. A Post Registration Specialist will then manually delete the class in the USPTO database.

Deposit Account Number: If you select the deposit account payment option, you will be prompted later in the process to enter your deposit account information. A deposit account is a pre-established account that is maintained with the USPTO, from which fees are to be charged. Read about our accepted payment methods.

Describe Evidence: Enter a description of what the evidence submitted consists of, e.g., dictionary entry, newspaper excerpt, trade journal article.

Describe the Nature of the Submitted Specimen: Enter a description of what the submitted specimen consists of, e.g., scanned/digitally photographed tags and labels affixed to the goods, instruction manuals, containers, point of purchase displays, or the front page of a catalogue.

Description of the Mark: Enter a complete and accurate description of the overall mark, e.g., "a stylized letter C." If the mark image contains both a literal element and a design element, the description must include both, e.g., "the wording ABC Company in black and a yellow sun," rather than simply "a yellow sun." If a color mark, you must list the portions of the mark that are in color and the corresponding color for each, e.g., "a bird with a black body, a red head, and a yellow beak." Do not enter the description within the Literal Element field since that field is to be used only to identify the specific word(s), letter(s), and/or number(s) appearing in the mark image and should not include any other descriptors. However, information from the Literal Element field should be repeated in the Description field. If the description is not accurate, either incomplete or including word(s), letter(s), number(s), or other elements not actually appearing in the attached mark image, applicant or registrant will be required to amend the description of the mark. Applicant or registrant may not be able to amend the mark image to include any missing elements after filing because it would likely be considered a material alteration of the mark. See TMEP §1609.02(a). Therefore, if the attached mark image is somehow incomplete, this problem should be resolved before submission of the application.

Disclaimer: Enter descriptive, generic, or otherwise non-distinctive wording or elements. A disclaimer is a statement that the applicant or registrant does not claim the exclusive right to use a specified element or elements of the mark in a trademark application or registration. The purpose of a disclaimer is to permit the registration of a mark that is registrable as a whole but contains matter that would not be registrable standing alone. See TMEP § 1213.01(c).

Display of Mark in USPTO Databases: The USPTO will generate an image for all standard character marks filed through TEAS Plus. After filing, the Word Mark field displayed in the Office's various databases may reflect a slightly different mark than what you actually filed because some standard characters must be converted to other characters, or slightly modified, to ensure proper communication across different databases. Specifically,

  1. the "€" symbol is converted to "Euro;"
  2. the "%" symbol is converted to "0/00;"
  3. "Œ" is converted to "OE;"
  4. "œ" is converted to oe; and
  5. some characters having a diacritical mark (e.g., an umlaut, accent, or cedilla) are converted to remove the diacritical mark; e.g., "Ü" is converted to "U" and "ç" is converted to "c."

For a complete listing of characters requiring conversion, see the Office's Character Conversion Table. For applications filed via TEAS Plus (i.e., on or after July 18, 2005) that claim standard characters and include any of the characters identified in (1)-(4) above, the USPTO-generated image of the mark is the most reliable data source for information about the exact mark. For searching purposes, you should NOT rely on the word mark field if any of those specific characters are part of the mark (It is not a problem for the characters identified at (5), above).

Display of Standard Character Mark: The USPTO will create an image of a standard character mark based upon the following guidelines: 1) a single line can consist of no more than 26 characters, including spaces; 2) after 26 characters, the mark will automatically continue onto the next line. If it is one continuous word string (where several words have been connected to create one long word, e.g., THEVERYBESTCOOKIESINTHEWORLD, the continuation on to the next line will be left justified; on the other hand, where there are clear breaks in the mark, e.g., THE VERY BEST COOKIES IN THE WORLD, the next line will be centered to distinguish between the continuation of one very long word from the first line versus the beginning of a new word on the next line; 3) component words are never separated between lines, e.g., whereas the mark THEVERYBESTCOOKIESINTHEWORLD would be displayed with the portion THEVERYBESTCOOKIESINTHEWOR and the final LD on the second line (left justified), the mark THE VERY BEST COOKIES IN THE WORLD will have the wording THE VERY BEST COOKIES IN on line 1, and THE WORLD on line 2 (centered); and 4) a "hard return" will be respected, but it will still be within the context of the 26 character limit, e.g., if the mark was to appear as THE VERY BEST on line 1 and COOKIES IN THE WORLD on line 2, it could be entered with a "hard return" after BEST, and the USPTO will match the intention as reflected in the original typed entry. However, where the mark is entered with the return after THE because the intention is to show only the mark on the next line the USPTO display will not match the intention. Instead, it will show the mark as THE VERY BEST COOKIES IN on line 1, THE by itself on line 2 (forced there because of the 26 character limit), and WORLD by itself on line 3 (forced there because of the use of the hard return). Therefore, if it is critical for the mark to be displayed in a definite way, e.g., certain words appearing on specific lines, then the applicant or registrant must use the special form option, and attach a .jpg image of the mark; however, an applicant or registrant may not make a claim of standard characters if attaching a .jpg image.

Docket/Reference Number: If applicable, domestic representatives own internal docket or reference number.

Docket/Reference Number: If applicable, enter the correspondent's own internal docket or reference number.

Domicile of the trademark owner/holder: 

  • the place an individual person resides and intends to be the person’s principal home; or
  • the principal place of business (e.g., headquarters) where the entity’s senior executives or officers ordinarily direct and control the entity’s activities

The address used for the domicile of an individual or entity is rarely a P.O. Box or a "care of" address.

If entered in the Domicile Address field on the TEAS forms, the domicile address is not publicly viewable in the USPTO's Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database, unless it is the same as the owner's mailing address.  

 
 

Save form: To download and save the application data:

 

  1. enter all the required form information;
  2. press the "validate" button;
  3. click the "Save Form" button at the bottom of the Validation Page;
  4. use the "File, Save As" feature of your web browser to save the form.

To re-access the saved form, open the front page of a "new" form, and use question #2 on the front page of the form, to insert the saved filed. When you are ready to submit the saved form, you must press the "validate" button again to re-access the Validation Page and complete the filing process.

Email Address: Enter your email address. Reminder: You will need to keep this email address current.

Email Address: Enter the corresponding attorney's email address. Reminder: You must keep this email address current.

Email Text Form to Second Party for Signature: Through this method, the "text form" may be emailed to the proper signatory as a "hyperlink" (no "downloading" of a portable form is required). The signatory will sign and date the application by affixing the "electronic signature," consisting of an arbitrary alpha-numeric combination placed between two forward slash symbols (e.g., /john smith/). The signed version automatically is returned to the original preparer, who can then complete the submission process to the USPTO.

Email: Enter your updated email address. Reminder: You will need to keep this email address current.

Electronic Funds Transfer: If you select the electronic fund transfer payment option, you will be prompted later in the process to enter your fund information. This payment method can only to be used by customers with U.S. affiliated bank accounts (those banks who are a member of the American Banking Association (ABA) network). Read about our accepted payment methods.

Entity Type: Indicate the applicant's entity type by selecting on one of the options that appears in this section, e.g., "individual," "corporation," "partnership." Next, enter the corresponding information requested in the space to the right of the option selected, which will appear within the form once the specific entity type is selected.

Estate: Select the state or country under whose laws the estate exists. In the designated field, enter the name(s) and citizenship(s) of the individual executors. Note: The Owner of Mark field, should identify the owner as the executors of the estate and NOT the name of the estate, e.g., "The Executors of the [specify name] Estate".

Evidence: Applicant or protester may attach image files of evidence that support the applicant's or protester's arguments; for example, dictionary excerpts, copies of relevant articles, web sites, etc. To attach evidence, applicant or protester must first save or scan the document(s) as a .jpg or .pdf file. Applicant or protester can then click on the browse button on the form to select the .jpg or .pdf file stored on the drive that contains the appropriate file. Attachments in any other format will be rejected

Excusable Nonuse Explanation: If the mark is not currently being used on all of the identified goods/services, and it is expected that use will resume, you must recite facts to show that nonuse as to those goods or services is due to special circumstances that excuse the nonuse, and is NOT due to an intention to abandon the mark; also, in the above fields, you must set forth the date when use of the mark in commerce stopped and the approximate date when use is expected to resume.

Note: Because the form will not validate without a specimen attachment, you must create a .jpg image file that simply states, "A specimen is not required due to Excusable nonuse," and attach that file to the form, as a "substitute" for an actual specimen image file. For the field "Describe what the specimen consists of," simply indicate, "No specimen is being submitted because excusable nonuse is being claimed."

Excusable Nonuse: If the mark is not currently being used on all of the identified goods/services, and it is expected that use will resume, you must set forth in the "Use Section" of the form the date when use of the mark in commerce stopped and the approximate date when use is expected to resume; and recite facts to show that nonuse as to those goods or services is due to special circumstances that excuse the nonuse, and is not due to an intention to abandon the mark.

Note: Because the form will not validate without a specimen attachment, you must create a .jpg image file that simply states, "A specimen is not required due to Excusable nonuse," and attach that file to the form, as a "substitute" for an actual specimen image file. For the field "Describe what the specimen consists of," simply indicate, "No specimen is being submitted because excusable nonuse is being claimed."

Expiration Date of Foreign Registration: Enter the expiration date of foreign registration.

Explanation of Filing: You must enter the background information and detailed facts surrounding the request as follows:

 

  1. whether the request is for a correction, an amendment, or a new certificate due to new ownership; and
  2. the exact nature of the requested change, even if an explanation related to the change is entered elsewhere within the form.

You may either directly type text into the text area, or cut-and-paste from another document into the text area.

Explanation of Filing: Enter an explanation stating why the post-publication amendment is needed, and what change is being requested (although you must then use the appropriate section of the form to make the actual change.)

Extension of Time: The applicant must file a Statement of Use within six months after the issue of the Notice of Allowance, UNLESS, within that same period, the applicant submits a request for a six-month extension of time to file the Statement of Use. The request for an extension must:

 

  1. be received at the USPTO within six months after the issue date of the Notice of Allowance,
  2. include a verified statement of applicant's continued bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce
  3. specify the goods/services to which the request pertains as they are identified in the Notice of Allowance; and
  4. include an Extension Request filing fee for each class of goods/services. The current fee for filing an Extension request is listed on the Trademark Processing Fees page.

The applicant may request five extensions of time. No extensions may extend beyond 36 months from the issue date of the Notice of Allowance. The second, third, fourth and fifth extensions must be received in the PTO within the previously granted extension period, and must include, in addition to the requirements described above, a showing of GOOD CAUSE. This good cause showing must include the applicant's statement of ongoing efforts to make such use, which may include the following:

 

  1. product or service research or development,
  2. market research,
  3. steps to acquire distributors,
  4. steps to obtain required governmental approval, or
  5. similar specified activity.

The applicant may submit one additional six-month extension request during the existing period in which the applicant files the Statement of Use, unless the granting of this request would extend the period beyond 36 months from the issue date of the Notice of Allowance. To show good cause for such a request, the applicant should state its belief that applicant has made valid use of the mark in commerce, as evidenced by the Statement of Use, but that if the Statement is found to be defective by the PTO, applicant will require additional time to file a new Statement of Use.

Extension Request(s) Due: This identifies which Request for an Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use you must submit with this filing. Note: No petition will be granted that would result in an SOU being filed more than 36 months from the issuance date of the Notice of Allowance. TMEP §1714.01(b).

Fax Number: If available, enter the entity's fax number, including area code. If the phone number is from a foreign country, include the country code.

Fax Number: Enter the domestic representative's fax number.

Fax Number: If available, enter the listed person's fax number, including area code. If the fax number is from a foreign country, please, include the country code.

Fax Number: Enter the correspondent's fax number.

Fax Number: If available, enter the attorney's fax number.

Fax Number: Enter the owner's updated fax number, including area code. If the phone number is from a foreign country, please, include the country code.

Fee for Failure to Satisfy TEAS Plus Application Requirements: A TEAS Plus applicant must pay a $100 processing fee per class to have the application examined as a TEAS Standard filing option if the initial application does not meet the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §2.22(a).
 
The application will retain its original filing date, assuming the initial application met the minimum filing requirements that are mandatory for all applications under 37 C.F.R. §2.21(a).
 
Fee Info: Registrant must pay a filing fee for each class to which the filing applies. The form will provide an itemized fee list for the registrant to view. To view a complete list of fees, Registrant may visit the Trademark Processing Fees page.
 

Fee Info: In order to request an extension of time to file a statement of use, applicant must pay a fee for each class to which the filing applies. The form will provide an itemized fee list for the applicant to view. To view a complete list of fees, applicant may visit the Trademark Processing Fees page.

Fee Info: In order to submit a Petition to director, applicant must pay a fee. The form will provide an itemized fee list for the applicant to view. To view a complete list of fees, applicant may visit the Trademark Processing Fees page.

Filing Bases:

  • Section 1(a) filing basis, actually using mark in commerce now: Choose this basis if you are actually already using the mark in commerce that the U.S. Congress may regulate (e.g., interstate commerce, territorial commerce [with Guam or American Samoa], or commerce between the United States and a foreign country) in connection with ALL the goods and/or services identified in the application.

    You must be able to provide the date of first use anywhere and the date of use in commerce that the U.S. Congress may regulate, and a specimen (sample) of said use. Use may be by the applicant, the applicant's related company, or a licensee of the applicant (or, earlier use by a predecessor in interest; however, current use must be being made at the time of the application by the applicant, the applicant's related company, or a licensee of applicant).

    Note: Section 1(a), use in commerce, and Section 1(b), intent-to-use, are mutually exclusive for identical goods or services. That is, it is never correct to claim that use is already being made for an item, and at the same time claim that there is merely an intention to make use of the mark for that item at some future date.

  • Section 1(b) filing basis, no use of mark yet but intending to use: Choose this basis if you have not yet made actual use of the mark in commerce that the U.S. Congress may regulate (e.g., interstate commerce, territorial commerce [with Guam or American Samoa], or commerce between the United States and a foreign country) in connection with ALL the goods and/or services identified in the application, but instead simply have a bona fide (good faith) intention to use the mark in commerce at a later time after filing of this application. The intention to use the mark may be by the applicant, the applicant's related company, or the licensee of the applicant. Note: If filing under this basis, you will be required to submit a demonstration of use (i.e., an Allegation of Use with an additional fee and a specimen (sample of use) later in the application process.

    Note: Section 1(a), use in commerce, and Section 1(b), intent-to-use, are mutually exclusive for identical goods or services. That is, it is never correct to claim that use is already being made for an item, and at the same time claim that there is merely an intention to make use of the mark for that item at some future date.

  • Section 44(d), foreign application exists for same goods/services: Choose this basis if you are filing the U.S. application within six (6) months of filing the first foreign application to register the mark in a defined treaty country. This establishes a "right of priority." However, if no foreign application filing already exists (i.e., you do not have an application pending in a trademark office outside of the USPTO), do NOT claim this basis.

    Note: This filing basis is not appropriate if you are merely doing business or intend to do business outside of the United States, and do not actually have a foreign application.

  • Section 44(e), Foreign registration exists for same goods/services: Choose this basis if a foreign registration already exists. You must provide all relevant information about the existing foreign registration(s), including attaching a .jpg or .pdf files of a copy of the foreign registration certificate. The foreign registration(s) must be in force at the time of filing of the U.S. application. If the foreign registration is not in English, you must also provide a translation of the foreign registration with the copy of the foreign registration. The translator should sign the translation, but need not swear to the translation.

    Note: This basis is not appropriate if you merely are doing business or intend to do business outside of the United States, and do not actually have a foreign registration; or, if you merely have a foreign application, which has not yet matured into a foreign registration.

Filing Basis: Under certain circumstances, a filing basis may be changed, i.e., either amended, deleted, or added. See TMEP §§806.03 and §806.04 for a complete discussion of the rules regarding changes in filing basis.

Filing Date of Foreign Application: Enter the date (two digits each for both the month and day, and four digits for the year) on which the foreign application was filed. To receive a priority in filing date, you MUST file the U.S. application within six (6) months of filing the first foreign application in a defined treaty country.

Filing with an Attorney: A trademark owner domiciled in the United States or its territories may file and prosecute their own forms with regard to registration of a mark, or they may be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney or other individual authorized to practice before the USPTO in trademark cases. A foreign-domiciled trademark owner must be represented at the USPTO by an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the United States or its territories. If the owner of a trademark is represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney or other party, the Office will only communicate with the applicant's named representative, unless that representation is terminated in writing, without replacement. If the applicant contacts the Office with respect to the application, the applicant will be advised that the Office will only discuss the matter with applicant's representative. The USPTO cannot aid in the selection of an attorney. See TMEP §601 for further information.

Final Refusal: A final refusal is an Office Action that is sent to the applicant after a response to a non-final action has been received by the Office and reviewed by the examining attorney. In the final refusal, the examining attorneys informs the applicant that either the arguments presented in their response did not obviate the grounds for refusing registration or that the information submitted did not satisfy the requirements set forth in the original office action. The status in the TSDR must specifically state that a FINAL action has been mailed. If, instead, the status only references a NON-FINAL action, then an appeal would be premature and should not be filed at this time.

Firm Name: Enter the name of the company or firm for the address of the correspondent.

Firm Name: If applicable, enter the firm being designated as the domestic representative. If a law firm is being named as the domestic representative, and this information is provided in the "Representative's Name" field, it need not be repeated in the "Firm Name" field. If already pre-populated (based on checking the box to indicate that the "Domestic Representative" is the same as the "Attorney Information," it should simply be deleted.

Firm Name: Enter the name of the law firm with which the attorney is associated. If a sole practitioner, please enter the name of the individual here (even though already provided in the field for "Correspondent Attorney Name.")

Foreign-domiciled owner/holder:

  • an individual owner/holder who resides and intends their principal home to be outside the United States or its territories; or
  • a juristic owner/holder (such as a corporation or partnership) whose principal place of business (headquarters) where the entity’s senior executives or officers are located is located outside the United States or its territories.

Foreign Application Number: Enter the foreign application serial number, if available (i.e., this field is not mandatory under TEAS Plus). If possible, enter no more than 12 characters. Eliminate all spaces and non-alphanumeric characters. E.g., German application number 339 78 406.3/39 should be entered as 33978406339. Any characters beyond the 12th will not be picked up in the USPTO databases nor be printed in the USPTO's Official Gazette.

Foreign Registration Date: Enter the date of the foreign registration.

Foreign Registration Number: Enter the number of the foreign registration. If possible, enter no more than 12 characters. Eliminate all spaces and non-alphanumeric characters. E.g., German registration number 339 78 406.3/39 should be entered as 33978406339. Any characters beyond the 12th will NOT be picked up in the USPTO databases nor be printed in the USPTO's Official Gazette.

Goods or Services to be Deleted: Click here if the owner, or its related company, is NOT using the mark in commerce on or in connection with all of the goods or services identified in the registration for this class. In the space provided, list any goods or services identified in the registration with which the mark is no longer used in commerce and that, therefore, must be deleted. Do NOT list those goods or services to be "kept" in the registration in this space.

Handwritten ("pen-and-ink") Signature: Through this method, the "text form" may be printed out and then mailed or faxed to the signatory, who will sign the form in the traditional "pen-and-ink" manner. Once the signed form has been mailed or faxed back to the preparer, this signed declaration must be scanned and re-attached as a .jpg or .pdf image file (the only image formats acceptable) to the original electronic application; the complete application can then be validated and filed electronically.

Inactivity: All TEAS/TEASi sessions will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity. After 25 minutes of inactivity, a pop-up message with a countdown timer will appear. You’ll have five minutes to continue the session or be automatically logged off.

Activity
The following actions count as activity that will renew your session:

  • Using the buttons at the bottom of the forms, including “Go Back,” “Continue,” “Submit,” and “Validate”
  • Uploading or attaching files
  • Choosing “Yes, keep me signed in” on the pop-up message

Inactivity 
The following actions do not count as activity, and will not renew your session:

  • Typing in a text box or field
  • Browsing and selecting items from the ID Manual
  • Clicking on radio buttons or checkboxes
  • Choosing items from a dropdown menu

Tips

  • If you plan to enter a significant amount of text into a text box or field, consider preparing it in advance, and then pasting it into the form.
  • If you're using the ID Manual, we recommend selecting and inserting no more than 20 entries at a time. On the next page that displays all of your selections, use the “Add Goods/Services by Searching ID Manual” button to return to the ID Manual to continue the process; repeat this process until all of your items are displayed in the overall listing on the page for assigning a filing basis. 

Individual Attorney Docket/Reference Number: If applicable, enter the attorney docket or reference number.

Individual: Enter the individual applicant's country of citizenship.

Internal Address: Enter the owner's new internal address, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Internal Address: Enter the attorney's internal address, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Internal Address: Enter the internal address of the correspondent, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Internal Address: Enter the entity's internal address, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Internal Address: Enter the domestic representative's internal address, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Internal Address: Enter the internal address of the person to whom correspondence should be addressed, e.g. Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

International Class: Although named "international class," this application is only for protection in the United States; the word "international" is used only in the context of a worldwide classification system of which the USPTO is part. Read more information about international filings through the Madrid Protocol.

Email Address: Enter your email address. Reminder: Keep this email address current.

Joint Applicants: Joint or multiple owners can apply as joint applicants if the mark is actively used by two or more differing legal entities. It is important to determine if a "joint applicant" relationship actually exists between or among the owners rather than a different relationship such as a partnership or joint venture. If the application is owned by joint applicants, enter each of the joint applicants separately by using the "Add Owner" button, and set forth the citizenship or the state or nation of organization of each of the joint applicants. If the citizenship or state of organization of each joint applicant is entered, the USPTO will presume that the owner relationship is that of joint applicants absent contradictory evidence in the record. However, if you would like to make the record clear that joint applicants are the owner, you may enter the following statement in the Miscellaneous Statement field of the Additional Statement Section: "The nature of the relationship of the applicants is that of Joint Applicants." Each of the joint applicants must sign the application because they are individual parties and not a single entity; however, if only one of the joint applicants signs the application, the USPTO will presume that they are signing on behalf of all the joint applicants and will not require an additional verification or declaration unless there is evidence in the record indicating that the party who signed the application was not authorized to sign on behalf of all the joint applicants. In contrast, all joint applicants must sign responses unless represented by a practitioner.

Joint Venture: For domestic and foreign applicants, select the state or country under whose laws the joint venture is organized. For domestic applicants, enter the names, legal entities, and national citizenship (for individuals), or state or country of organization (for businesses), of all general partners or active members that compose the joint venture.

Limited Liability Company: Select the applicant's state or country under whose laws the limited liability company is organized.

Limited Partnership: For domestic and foreign applicants, select the state or country under whose laws the partnership is organized. For domestic applicants, enter the names, legal entities, and national citizenships (for individuals), or states or countries of organization (for businesses), of all general partners or active members that compose the limited partnership. Limited partners or silent or inactive partners need not be listed. Note: This is separate and distinct from a "limited liability partnership" (LLP).

Limited Purpose: For a Section 66(a) application, the Voluntary Amendment form may be used only for the following purposes:

  1. Deletion of an existing class or modification of the listing of goods/services within an existing class. You may not propose any of the other changes listed at Question #1 of the form wizard, namely, changing a classification number; adding/modifying dates of use; adding/substituting a specimen; and/or submitting a foreign registration certificate. Nor may you add a class(es) (form wizard question #5).
  2. Insertion of an additional statement, for example, a disclaimer, a translation into English, the consent to register an individual's name. Amendment to the Supplemental Register is not permitted, however, even though that option will appear in the Additional Statement section of the form.
  3. Submission of a better quality image or submission of a drawing that complies with U.S. drawing requirements. You may not amend the mark, even in a non-material way.
  4. Correction of applicant or entity information, e.g., to provide applicant's country of incorporation or organization. You may not change the applicant/holder or address thereof.
  5. Payment of additional fee (although the need for this perhaps does not exist, since adding a class(es) is not permitted.
  6. Submission of a signed declaration, if you believe the original MM18 form was not properly signed.

Listing Goods or Services under Excusable Nonuse: If claiming excusable nonuse as to specific goods or services, you must enter the goods and services information within the free-text field in the following format: "Excusable nonuse is claimed as to [list specific good(s) or service(s)]. These goods or services are not to be deleted from the registration." It is critical to include all of this verbiage, since merely listing goods or services within this field would otherwise suggest an intent to have those goods or services deleted.

Listing of Goods and/or Services: Do not enter a Class Number or any other code in the identification of goods and/or services field. Instead, enter only the common commercial name for the specific goods and/or services associated with the mark; e.g., computer software for accounting purposes;" or "shirts, pants and shoes." If you are not specific enough (e.g., listing "internet services"), you will not receive a filing date. While you may be able to amend the recitation during prosecution to clarify a broad recitation, if the initial listing is too ambiguous, you will not receive a filing date and no amendment will be permitted. If the goods and/or services are classified in more than one class, the goods and/or services should be listed in ascending numerical class order. If possible, you should use a listing(s) directly from the USPTO's online Goods and Services Manual. However, do not include the prefatory data (e.g., G 028 A 4/2/91) from the manual listing; use only the actual goods or services language. Also, you must substitute specific wording for any informational wording that appears within parentheses and/or brackets in the manual listing; e.g., the manual listing of "Computer software [specify the function of the program]" should be entered in the application as, e.g., "Computer software for word processing."

Literal Element: Any word(s), letter(s), and/or number(s) that appear in the mark image should be entered in the Literal Element field.

Losing TEAS Plus Status: A requirement for filing under TEAS Plus is that the application be "complete." If the examining attorney has determined that all TEAS Plus requirements were not satisfied, you must now pay a $100 per class fee because the TEAS Plus status was lost. 

Mailing address: An address capable of receiving mail, which may be a street address, a P.O. Box, or a "care of" address.

Mark and Specimen appear huge: Both the Mark and Specimen images may appear huge when you review the images via the provided links, and you may not be able to print them in the proper dimensions directly from the accessed page (i.e., the mark image must print no larger than 3.15 x 3.15 inches (8 x 8 cms.) and the specimen image must print no larger than 8 1/2 x 11 inches). This does NOT indicate that there is a problem with your image file. Current browser and monitor technologies may display images at lower dpi, causing images scanned at a higher dpi level to appear huge after attachment. The USPTO can process your image file, if you were able to save and print your image attachment from your image software in the proper dimensions prior to attaching the image to the form. Additional information may be found under Properly-Sized .jpg Image File.

Mark Color: List all colors that are being claimed as a feature of the mark, including black and/or white.

Mark: Applicant should present its mark in one of three formats:

  1. Standard Characters
  2. Special form (Stylized and/or Design)
  3. Sound or Non-visual

Applicant may apply for only one mark in each application; and, each variation of a mark is considered a separate mark. Consequently, applicant cannot display the mark as a combination of both standard characters and stylized and/or design elements within one application.

To enter a mark in the Standard Character format, select the "Standard Characters" button and enter only the word(s), letter(s) and/or number(s) you wish to register, e.g., THE CAT'S MEOW. Do not include quotation marks around the mark unless you are actually using, or intend to use, the quotation marks as part of the mark. Also, do not include any additional information about your mark in this field. You may enter additional information about the mark in the Miscellaneous Statement field of the Additional Statements section.

To enter a Special Form mark, applicant must select the "Special Form" button and attach a .jpg image file consisting solely of a pictorial element; word(s), letter(s), or number(s) in a particular stylization; or a combination of the two elements. The image should only be of the mark itself and should not be a presentation of how the mark is or will be used in commerce, e.g., a tag or label for goods or advertisement for services. If the word(s), letter(s), or number(s) appear in the mark, enter these in the Literal Element field. If applicant selects a Special Form mark, no information should be entered in the Standard Character or Sound mark section. Applicant must also describe the mark in the Mark Description field, e.g., "a stylized letter C." If the mark is in color, applicant must list the colors and describe the portions of the mark that are in color and the corresponding color for each, e.g., "a bird with a blue body, a red head, and a yellow beak."

Material Alteration: The examiner will determine whether any proposed amendment of the mark is acceptable. A change is not acceptable if it materially alters the character of the mark. The amended mark must contain what is the essence of the original mark, and the amended mark must create the impression of essentially the same mark. See TMEP §1609.02(a). As a general rule, the addition of any element that would require a further search to determine whether a confusingly similar mark exists will constitute a material alteration. Deletion of matter from the mark may also result in a material alteration. However, deletion of generic or purely informational material will usually not result in material alteration unless the deleted matter were so integrated into the mark that the deletion would alter the commercial impression. In some circumstances, even descriptive or other types of non-distinctive matter may be deleted if the overall commercial impression is not altered. An applicant may not amend to a standard character mark if the deletion of a design element or the elimination of the special form would alter the commercial impression. Usually, the mere amendment from stylized lettering to standard character form will not represent a material alteration. An amendment adding an element that the applicant has previously registered for the same goods or services may be permitted; however, the addition of matter that the applicant has previously registered for different goods or services is not permissible. Any proposed amendment to delete previously registered matter from the mark will be evaluated as to whether the deletion would represent a material alteration of the mark without regard to whether the matter to be deleted is the subject of an existing registration. Note: These general rules are subject to exceptions. The USPTO must decide each case on its own facts.

Method of Control: The applicant must specify how it controls or, if filing under Section 1(b), intends to control the use of the mark by members. If the applicant's bylaws or other written provisions specify the manner of control, or intended manner of control, applicant may simply state that.

Miscellaneous Statement: This section should only be used to enter information for which no other section of the form is appropriate. The entry should be as concise a statement as possible, and consist of factual information that follows, as closely as possible, the format set forth for the other additional statements, above. If the applicant wishes to submit a separate attachment as part of a miscellaneous claim, the applicant must concurrently do this through the submission of a supplemental Voluntary Amendment form.

Modify Listing of Goods and/or Services: If the original listing of goods and/or services is not correct or is not acceptable to the USPTO, you may enter a new listing of goods and/or services. However, this listing must still fall within the "scope" of the original listing. I.e., you may amend from "clothing" to "shirts and pants," but not to "shirts, pants, and retail clothing stores," because "retail clothing stores" was not within the scope of just "clothing." You must enter the complete listing of goods/services, regardless of the extent of changes made from the original listing (i.e., even if only one word has been changed, please repeat the entire listing, with relevant changes incorporated). If the examining attorney has suggested a listing, you should adopt that wording, assuming it is correct. If the examining attorney has suggested an incorrect listing or has not been able to suggest a new listing please look for acceptable language for your goods and/or services in the USPTO's on-line.

Must be Filed: When filing a statement of use with a petition to revive the application, you are not required to submit an extension request form. However, you must pay the fees for any missed extension periods for the statement of use to be considered timely. For example, if a Notice of Allowance issued on January 1, 2010, a statement of use or extension request was due no later than July 1, 2010. If no extension request or statement of use was filed by July 1, 2010, the application would be abandoned. To submit a late statement of use, a petition to revive would need to be filed no later than two months after the issue date of the Notice of Abandonment. If the petition to revive was filed on September 1, 2010, the fees for the extension request that was due on July 1, 2010 must be submitted with the petition in order for the statement of use accompanying the petition to be considered timely.

Name or Protestor: Enter the full legal name of the entity objecting to the registration of a mark in a pending application, i.e., the name of the individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity that is protesting registration of a mark, NOT the person or firm completing the Letter of Protest.

Name: The correspondent is the applicant's attorney, if one has been appointed. If there is no attorney, then the owner of the mark will be the official correspondent.

Reminder: The USPTO will never communicate directly with the applicant, where there is an appointed attorney.

Name(s), Portrait(s), Signature(s) of Individual(s): If a name(s), portrait(s), and/or signature(s) shown in the mark identifies a particular living individual, click on the first circle and enter the name of the individual being identified. In addition, attach a .jpg or .pdf file showing the actual consent of the named individual to the use and registration of their name. Click on the second circle if the mark includes a name(s), portrait(s), and/or signature(s), but this does NOT identify a particular living person. Note: When filing an application using the TEAS Plus filing option, the applicant must provide the appropriate information regarding consent, if applicable under the facts of the application.

New Certificate: If after registration a change in ownership arises, you may record the change and request a "New Certificate" from Post Registration. You must explain exactly how the new certificate is to read, and reference the recorded document, e.g., an assignment or change of name. See TMEP §502.03.

Note: If the issue relates to anything other than ownership, an "updated" registration certificate will issue, rather than a "new" registration certificate.

New or Substitute Specimen: At the proper place in the form, you may attach, for each international class, specimen(s) showing the mark as used in commerce on or in connection with any item listed in the description of goods and/or services. This may be to replace a specimen already of record, or to submit a new specimen, either because the original application did not include a specimen or because a new class is being added, under a Section 1(a), Use in Commerce, basis. To attach the specimen(s), you will click on the browse button to select the .jpg or .pdf file stored on your local drive containing the specimen image. Up to fifty (50) image files may be attached. The images may be in color, and must be in color if color is being claimed as a feature of the mark. Note: The specimen image is NOT the same as the image of your actual mark by itself. Instead, the specimen must show how you are actually using the mark in commerce. For example, for goods, acceptable specimens would consist of scanned or digitally photographed tags or labels affixed to the goods, instruction manuals, or containers that show the mark on the goods or packaging. Invoices, announcements, order forms, bills of lading, leaflets, brochures, publicity releases and other printed advertising material generally are not acceptable specimens for goods. Examples of acceptable service mark specimens are signs, photographs, brochures or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services.

Newly Appearing Attorney: A newly appearing attorney does NOT include the existing attorney of record or an associate thereof (i.e., an associate of the existing attorney of record should answer NO, even if not a named attorney of record; see TMEP §602 regarding attorneys who may conduct business with the USPTO).

A newly appearing attorney must answer YES and complete the "Attorney Section" that appears within the form only if:

  1. the USPTO has not previously recognized a U.S.-licensed attorney to prosecute the application on behalf of the applicant;
  2. the USPTO has granted the withdrawal of a previously appointed attorney; or
  3. the applicant has filed a revocation of the previous power without appointing a new attorney.

Filing this form with new information on the "Attorney Information" page will electronically update the "Attorney of Record" data in the USPTO's TSDR database and no separate filing of an Appointment of Attorney signed by the applicant is necessary. The USPTO will then recognize you as the applicant's attorney of record. If you are not the previously appointed attorney or an associate thereof, do NOT simply file this form to be recognized, unless you satisfy one of the three (3) qualifications listed above. A separate revocation of attorney, signed by the applicant, must be submitted using the Change Address or Representation form to be properly recognized by the USPTO and update the attorney of record information in the USPTO's database.

Non-traditional specimen: Specimens for certain non-traditional marks, such as scent and flavor marks, can’t be submitted electronically because the examiner or specialist must be able to physically evaluate the specimen. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(d)(1). This exception doesn’t apply to sound and motion marks because electronically filed specimens are sufficient to determine registrability. See TMEP §904.03(f), (l), (m).

Non-visual Mark: A non-visual mark may be a sound, a scent, or otherwise non-visual mark. For sound mark, an electronic file in .wav, .wmv, .wma, .mp3, .mpg, or .avi format should be uploaded. The file should only consist of the mark and not other extraneous material. The sound file may not exceed 5MB for an audio file and 30MG for a video file. A detailed, clear, and precise description of the mark must also be entered in the Mark Description field. Note: The USPTO cannot ensure that multimedia content stored in Trademark systems will play on all computers since this depends on the configuration of the computer on which it is being viewed, i.e., the operating system, browser, plug-ins, media player, and installed codes on the user's computer.

Notice of Allowance Mailing Date: This is the date that the Notice of Allowance was sent to the correspondence address of record.

Number of Classes: Enter the number of classes (i.e., how many classes) to which the form applies. For example, if the form applies to Classes 1, 5 and 25, then the number "3" should be entered.

Number of Classes: This will not reflect the proper number if the free-text approach for the goods/services has been used, and different filing bases exist within the same class. In the Fees Section, you will need to manually adjust the Total Fee Paid amount, using the pull-down box to select the correct fee amount.

Number of Extension Request: This number indicates whether you are in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th extension period.

Office Policy Concerning Correspondence Addresses: The USPTO uses the following guidelines in entering a correspondence address:

  1. If a written power of attorney is filed, the Office will send correspondence to the attorney designated in the power.
  2. If an attorney transmits documents on behalf of an applicant, registrant, or party to a proceeding who is not represented by another qualified practitioner from a different firm, the Office will send correspondence to the attorney transmitting the documents.
  3. If an application, registration, or proceeding is not being prosecuted by an attorney, the Office will send correspondence directly to the applicant, registrant, or party to the proceeding.

The Office will send correspondence to only one address in an ex parte matter. Once the Office has recognized a practitioner qualified under §11.14 of this chapter as the representative of an applicant or registrant, the Office will communicate and conduct business only with that practitioner, or with another qualified practitioner from the same firm. The Office will not conduct business directly with the applicant or registrant, or with another practitioner from a different firm unless the applicant or registrant files a revocation of the power of attorney under §2.19(a), and/or a new power of attorney that meets the requirements of §2.17(c).

Original Office Action: The application was declared abandoned because you did not file a response, or request an extension of the response deadline, if applicable, by the response deadline indicated in the office action. If you received the original office action, or you filed and were granted an extension of the deadline, then you must file a response with your petition. If you did not receive the original office action, and did not file a request to extend the response deadline, if applicable, then you do not have to file a response with the petition. You can view the office action in the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database. Enter the serial number in the box next to the text “US Serial, Registration, or Reference No.” and click the blue “Documents” button.

 

Other Appointed Attorney(s): Enter the name(s) of any other attorney(s) authorized to prosecute the application; however, correspondence will only be sent to the attorney listed as the primary attorney of record.

Other Entity Type: For entities organized in the United States, use the Domestic Entity menu to select the appropriate entity. For entities organized in a foreign country, use the Foreign Entity menu to select the appropriate entity. If the owner's entity is not listed in the menu, enter the entity type in the free-form text entry field. Select the state or country under whose laws the entity exists. Note: If entering joint or multiple applicants, do not select "Other" as the entity type. Instead, enter each individual entity as a separate owner entry using the "add owner" button.

Owner Name: This display's the mark owner's name. You may not use this form to change the owner's name. If you would like to update the owner to reflect a transfer ownership of an application or registration from one party to another, you should file an assignment with the Assignments Division.

Owner of Mark: Enter the full legal name of the applicant, i.e., the name of the individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity that owns the mark, not the person or firm completing the application. If the owner is:

  1. an Individual , please enter LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, MIDDLE INITIAL/NAME, e.g., Smith, John A.,
  2. a Joint venture, organized under a business name, enter the business name,
  3. a Trust, enter the name as "The Trustees of the [specify name] Trust",
  4. an Estate, enter the executors of the state, e.g., "The Executors of the [specify name] Estate",
  5. Joint or multiple applicants, enter the name of a single owner in this field. Use the "Add Owner" button at the bottom of the screen, to add additional owners.

Note: If the owner is doing business as or trading under a different name, enter that information in the DBA, AKA, TA, or formerly known as field.

Partnership: For domestic and foreign applicants, select the state or country under whose laws the partnership exists. For domestic applicants, also enter the names, legal entities, and national citizenships (for individuals), or states or countries of organization (for businesses) of all general partners or active members that compose the partnership.

PDF Attachment for Argument: To use this approach, you should first enter within the Text box (accessed at "Click here to Enter Argument(s)") the statement "Please see the actual argument text attached within the Evidence section." Then, you would attach the full argument as a .pdf file as "Evidence." While not, in a sense, truly "evidence," the USPTO sanctions this workaround approach, since the retention of formatting facilitates the reading of the argument; also, images can be included within the .pdf file, which is not possible when entry is attempted directly within the Text box. HOWEVER, do not submit an entire response as one single .pdf attachment. I.e., if specific portions of the Response to Office action form exist for entering the information, such as a disclaimer or amended goods/services, those entries must be made within the appropriate area of the form, and not merely included as part of the .pdf attachment. The .pdf should ONLY consist of the argument (and any images, if appropriate), and none of the other items necessary for a complete response to the issued Office action.

§2.146. Petitions to Director: a petition may be taken to the Director:

 

  1. From any repeated or final formal requirement of the examiner in the ex parte prosecution of an application if permitted by §2.63(b);
  2. in any case for which the Act of 1946, or Title 35 of the United States Code, or this Part of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations specifies that the matter is to be determined directly or reviewed by the Director;
  3. to invoke the supervisory authority of the Director in appropriate circumstances;
  4. in any case not specifically defined and provided for by this Part of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations;
  5. in an extraordinary situation, when justice requires and no other party is injured thereby, to request a suspension or waiver of any requirement of the rules not being a requirement of the Act of 1946.

Phone Number: Enter the correspondent's phone number.

Phone Number: Enter the attorney's telephone number.

Phone Number: Enter the listed person's telephone number, including area code.

Phone Number: Enter the domestic representative's telephone number.

Phone Number: Enter the telephone number of the entity, including area code.

Phone Number: Enter the owner's updated telephone number, including area code. If the phone number is from a foreign country, please, include the country code.

Post-Publication Amendment to Basis: If applicant wishes to submit a post-publication amendment to change the basis of the application, a Petition to Director is required. 37 C.F.R. §2.35(b)(2). Use the Petition to Change the Filing Basis After Publication form to substitute a §1(b), intent to use basis, for a §44(e), foreign registration basis, after publication. For other post-publication amendments to change the basis use the Petition to Change the Filing Basis After Publication form. You must be amending the basis for all of the goods/services in the application otherwise you must first file a Request to Divide Application. There is a $100 petition fee required. If the change in basis is accepted, republication is required. For more information, see TMEP §806.03(j).

 

Power of Attorney Filed: The applicant has filed a power of attorney appointing you in this matter. For example, Attorney A was originally appointed in the application or power of attorney. The applicant has hired additional counsel, Attorney B, who is not associated with Attorney A. The USPTO will recognize Attorney B as one of applicant's attorneys if a power of attorney signed by the applicant is filed with the USPTO before Attorney B appears on behalf of the applicant.

Prior Registration(s): Enter registration number(s) for the same or similar marks. Do not use any commas within the number, and ensure that the entry is 7 numerals long (i.e., if necessary, add leading 0's to number, e.g., 0086417). If there are more than 3 numbers, click the box for "and others" after the third number. The entries will appear as follows: Applicant claims ownership of U.S. Registration Number(s) __________.

Note: When filing an application using the TEAS Plus filing option, applicant must claim ownership of any registrations for the same mark, if applicable under the facts of the application.

Proof of Use: The USPTO randomly audits registration maintenance filings to help preserve the trademark register as a reliable reflection of marks in use in commerce. Registrations are entitled to be maintained only for goods or services for which the mark is in use in commerce or for which temporary nonuse is excused due to special circumstances. Inaccurate or improper use claims in registration maintenance filings jeopardize the validity of your registration, may unnecessarily block future applications, and diminish the utility of the trademark register to provide notice of trademark rights to businesses and the public. Trademark owners submit one specimen per class with six and ten-year declarations of use filed pursuant to Trademark Act Section 8 or 71 to maintain their registration. If the USPTO audits your registration maintenance filing, you will be required to prove use of your mark for additional goods and services in the registration. If you do not substantiate use for those goods or services, they will be removed from the registration.  For additional information, please see the Post Registration Proof of Use Audit Program webpage.

Pro se Status at the Time of the Attorney's Appearance: At registration, any appointment of a representative ceases, and the registrant is considered to be "pro se" until there is either an actual appointment made, or a representative files a post registration submission (i.e., filing an affidavit under §8 or an application for renewal under §9) on the mark owner's behalf. For this reason, the new attorney may sign this form, again only under the specific scenario of registration of the mark, and no other attorney being appointed or submitting a post-registration filing. Once the USPTO recognizes an attorney because the attorney submitted a post-registration filing on the mark owner's behalf, the USPTO will recognize only that attorney for all submissions related to that filing unless, and until, the mark owner revokes and appoints a new attorney.

Properly-Sized .jpg Image File: All .jpg images should be submitted at no less than 300 dots per inch and no more than 350 dots per inch and with a length and width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels, e.g., a pixel dimension of 640 X 480 pixels. To ensure your image file meets these suggested sizes, you can use a free graphic viewer, e.g., Irfanview. If applicant or registrant cuts and pastes an image into Irfanview, or opens an image file using the program, the applicant or registrant can select "Image" from the tool bar and "Information" from the drop-down choices to view the current DPI and pixel dimensions. If applicant's or registrant's image is not in the proper dimensions, you can use Irfanview to change the DPI and pixel dimensions: 1) Select "Image" from the tool bar; 2) Select "Resize" from the drop-down choices; 3) Set the DPI to 300 - 350 and change the pixel dimension to within the accepted range of 250 X 944; 4) If the new image file looks acceptable to you in the new dimensions, save the image file by selecting "File" from the tool bar and using the "Save As" feature to save the file as a .jpg image. If the image is not clear, do not submit the image. Instead, seek the assistance of a graphic artist to create the properly-sized .jpg file.

Recognized Canadian Attorney/Agent: Canadian trademark attorneys and agents are authorized to represent parties located in Canada in trademark matters before the USPTO as additionally appointed practitioners, so long as they remain registered and in good standing in Canada and are formally reciprocally recognized by the USPTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).

Refusal to Register: Once you submit this application, the USPTO will not cancel the filing or refund your fee unless the application fails to satisfy minimum filing requirements. Filing an application does not guarantee registration. The electronic filing fee is a processing fee, which we do not refund even if we cannot issue a registration after our review of the application. The USPTO may refuse to register your mark on numerous grounds. The most common are:

 

  1. Likelihood of Confusion: The USPTO conducts a search for conflicting marks as part of the official examination of an application only after a trademark application is filed. In evaluating an application, the examining attorney conducts a search of USPTO records to determine whether there is a conflict between the mark in the application and a mark that is either registered or pending in the USPTO. The principal factors considered in reaching this decision are the similarity of the marks and the commercial relationship between the goods and services identified by the marks. To find a conflict, the marks neither have to be identical nor the goods and/or services the same; instead, it is sufficient if the marks are similar and the goods and or services related. Similarity in sound, appearance, or meaning may be sufficient to support a finding of likelihood of confusion. When a conflict exists between the applicant's mark and a registered mark, the examining attorney will refuse registration of the applicant's mark on the ground of likelihood of confusion. If a conflict exists between the applicant's mark and a mark in an earlier-filed pending application, the examining attorney will notify the applicant of the potential conflict. The applicant's mark will be refused on the ground of likelihood of confusion only if the earlier-filed application proceeds to registration.
  2. Merely Descriptive and Deceptively Misdescriptive: The examining attorney will refuse registration of a mark as merely descriptive if it immediately describes an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of the specified goods or services. A mark will be refused as deceptively misdescriptive if (1) the mark misdescribes an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose or use of the specified goods or services; and (2) the misrepresentation conveyed by the mark is plausible.
  3. Primarily Geographically Descriptive and Primarily Geographically Deceptively Misdescriptive: The examining attorney will refuse registration of a mark as primarily geographically descriptive if: (1) the primary significance of the mark is geographic; (2) purchasers would be likely to think that the goods or services originate in the geographic place identified in the mark, i.e., purchasers would make a goods/place or services/place association; and (3) the mark identifies the geographic origin of the goods or services. A mark will be refused as primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive if: (1) the primary significance of the mark is geographic; (2) purchasers would be likely to think that the goods or services originate in the geographic place identified in the mark,i.e., purchasers would make a goods/place or services/place association; and (3) the goods or services do not originate in the place identified in the mark.
  4. Primarily Merely a Surname: The examining attorney will refuse registration of a mark if the primary significance to the purchasing public is a surname.
  5. Ornamentation: In general, the examining attorney will refuse registration if the applied-for mark is merely a decorative feature or part of the "dress" of the goods. Such matter is merely ornamentation and does not serve the trademark function of identifying and distinguishing the applicant's goods from those of others.

Note: For a complete list of the substantive grounds of refusal and a detailed explanation of each, see TMEP §1200. The USPTO cannot provide preliminary legal advice as to whether we will register a particular mark; filing an application is the only way to obtain a decision on whether the USPTO will refuse registration.

Registration Number: Enter the USPTO 5, 6, or 7 digit registration number (e.g.,, 1234567). If necessary, add a leading "0", e.g., 0936427.

Related Company: The term "related company" means any person (either natural or juristic) whose use of the mark is controlled by the owner of the mark with respect to the nature and quality of the goods or services on or in connection with which the mark is used. It can include a "licensee," but only if the aforementioned provisions are met. See TMEP §1201.03 for more information.

Removing Checked Goods/Services: To remove any item(s) from the overall goods/services list displayed on the "Basis for Filing" page, follow these instructions:

 

  1. The specific item(s) to be removed must be "highlighted" on the screen. Therefore, as appropriate, either (1) select the box in front of any item to be kept in the list, to "un-highlight" the entry; or (2) select the box in front of any item that is not currently "highlighted", but is to be removed, in order to "highlight" the entry.
  2. When all items to be removed are highlighted, select the "Remove Checked Goods/Services" button.
  3. To continue the assign filing basis process for all remaining entries, select the "Select all" button (upper left corner of the list of goods/services), and all entries will again be highlighted.

Renewal Date for Foreign Registration: Enter the date on which the registration was renewed, if applicable.

Representative's Name: Enter the name of the domestic representative. The representative may be a natural person, e.g., an individual attorney, or a juristic person, such as a law firm or a local agent or subsidiary company, as defined in 15 U.S.C. §1127.

Represents: The Office considers the applicant to be unrepresented if a foreign attorney who is NOT a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a U.S. state or territory is the only representative who has appeared on behalf of the applicant (e.g., a foreign attorney who is listed as the correspondence address in a §66 application), and the foreign attorney is NOT otherwise authorized to practice before the USPTO under the rules e.g., an authorized Canadian attorney/agent.

Requesting to Withdraw as Attorney: If you want to request to withdraw as attorney when other previously appointed members of your firm will continue representation (replacing an attorney of record with another already appointed attorney), you must use the Change Address or Representation form.

Requester Name for Letter of Protest: Enter the name of the person who is requesting a copy of the Letter of Protest and to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Revocation of Power if Attorney Filed: The applicant has filed or is concurrently filing a signed revocation of power of attorney. For example, Attorney A was originally appointed in the application or power of attorney. The applicant has revoked Attorney A's power and hired new counsel, Attorney B. The USPTO will recognize Attorney B as applicant's attorney if a revocation of power of attorney signed by the applicant is filed with the USPTO before Attorney B appears on behalf of the applicant.

Scenario 1: One class or multiple classes with ONE filing basis for ALL listed items:

How to assign basis:

Use these instructions if the filing basis will cover all listed items:

 

  1. Click on the one appropriate filing basis button from the four (4) choices displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services which will cover all listed items.*
  2. Complete all mandatory fields where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)).
  3. Click on the Assign "Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once a basis is selected.
  4. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning basis for all listed items.

*Use these slightly different instructions if either of these factual scenarios applies to your application: (1) If you have multiple classes of goods and/or services, and you are assigning a Section 1(a) basis to each of the classes, or using a different foreign application (under 44(d)) or foreign registration (under Section 44(e)) for each of the classes, you must assign the basis separately for each class; or (2) if you have a single class, but there are different dates of use (under Section 1(a)) or different foreign applications (under Section 44(d)) or foreign registrations (under Section 44(e)) for goods/services within the class, you must assign the basis separately for any entry having different data.

 

  1. Click the checkbox in front of each entry to which you do not want to assign the filing basis initially (because the entries are in different classes, or have different data), to "un-highlight" those entries. All remaining "highlighted" entries are now ready for assignment of the filing basis, at Step 2.
  2. Click on the one appropriate filing basis button displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services.
  3. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)).
  4. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once a basis is selected.
  5. Return to the list of goods/services, and click the checkbox(es) to highlight the next entry(ies) to which you will now assign the basis, and repeat Steps 2-4, above. Repeat process, as necessary, to assign basis for all listed items.
  6. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

Note: You cannot provide different basis data within a single entry, e.g., if you enter the listing of goods as "Clothing, namely, pants, shirts," and you have different use dates for the pants and shirts, the identification as entered will not accommodate this. You must enter the items separately, with "pants" as one entry and "shirts" as a second entry, and then provide the specific data for each.

How to remove incorrect basis: If the wrong basis has been selected, click on the "Remove this [basis]" button before clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and return to Step 1, above, top. If you have already clicked on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and the wrong basis now appears within the "Assigned Filing Basis(es) column, you must (1) Click on the listed basis link (i.e.,, either 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), or 44(e)); (2) Click on the displayed "Remove this [basis]" button; and (3) Return to Step 1, above, top. Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather that clicking on each entry separately.

How to change data within a correctly assigned basis OR re-attach image files if now using a saved form: If the filing basis is correct, but either (1) changes must be made to information therein (for 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)); or (2) image file(s) must be re-attached, because you are using a saved form and the attachments were not carried forward, due to browser security reasons (for a specimen under 1(a), or a foreign registration certificate under 44(e)), you must (1) Click on the listed basis link under the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column; (2) Enter data changes within the re-displayed basis information section, or re-attach the image file(s); and (3) Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button after making all necessary changes. Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather than clicking on each entry separately.

Examples of one class or multiple classes, with ONE filing basis for ALL listed items: Application has Class 025, with a filing basis of Section 1(b) for all goods (shirts, pants). Application has Classes 014 and 025, with a filing basis of Section 44(e) for all goods (jewelry in Class 14 and shirts, pants in Class 025).

Scenario 2: One class or multiple classes, with same multiple filing bases for ALL listed items in class(es):

How to assign basis:

  1. Click on one of the 4 filing basis buttons displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services, corresponding to the first appropriate basis to be assigned.*
  2. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)), but do NOT click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button when you have completed entering the basis information (or, after simply selecting Section 1(b), since no additional information is required for that basis).
  3. Click on the correct basis button to assign the next filing basis (repeating Step 2, above, for that basis, if necessary). Note: You cannot select Section 1(b), Intent to Use, and Section 1(a), Actual use, for the same item.**
  4. Repeat this same process, if appropriate, to assign yet another basis.
  5. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button at the bottom of the screen when you have finished selecting all bases, and having entered the mandatory information for each. Reminder, do not click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button until all bases have been selected, and all required information for each basis has been entered.***
  6. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

*Use these slightly different instructions only if either of these factual scenarios applies to your application: (1) If you have multiple classes of goods and/or services, and you are assigning a Section 1(a) basis to each of the classes, or using a different foreign application (under 44(d)) or foreign registration (under Section 44(e)) for each of the classes, you must assign the basis separately for each class; or (2) If you have a single class, but there are different dates of use (under Section 1(a)) or different foreign applications (under Section 44(d)) or foreign registrations (under Section 44(e)) for goods/services within the class, you must assign the basis separately for any entry having different data.

  1. Determine which of the 4 filing bases you wish to assign first, and click the checkbox in front of any entry to which you do not want to assign this filing basis initially (because the entries are in different classes, or have different data), to "un-highlight" those entries. All remaining "highlighted" entries are now ready for assignment of whatever initial filing basis you will select, at Step 2.
  2. Click on the filing basis button displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services.
  3. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)). Note: You cannot select Section 1(b), Intent to Use, and Section 1(a), Actual use, for the same item. **
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 before continuing, if there are multiple foreign applications or registrations supporting an entry.
  5. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once any basis is selected.
  6. Return to the list of goods/services, and click the checkbox(es) for those entry(ies) to which you wish to apply a basis, to now highlight the entries; then, repeat Steps 2-4, above, but not Step 5. Note: To click all checkboxes, if appropriate, use the "Select all" feature.
  7. Repeat this same process, if appropriate, to assign yet another basis.
  8. Click on the "Add Filing Basis" button once you have entered the information for all bases. Do NOT click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, because that will result in the complete substitution of the other basis(es), rather than the addition of the basis(es) to the existing entries in the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column.
  9. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

** Also, you cannot provide different basis data within a single entry. E.g., if you enter the listing of goods as "Clothing, namely, pants, shirts," and you have different use dates for the pants and shirts, the identification as entered will not accommodate this. You must enter the items separately, with "pants" as one entry and "shirts" as a second entry, and then provide the specific data for each.

*** If you do improperly click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button before selecting all appropriate bases, you must (1) Click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries; (2) Click on the next basis button to be assigned (entering all required information, if appropriate); (3) Repeat the process to add yet another basis; and (4) Click on the "Add Filing Basis" button at the bottom of the screen, thereby adding to whatever basis(es) is already listed in the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column. Note: Clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button at this point in the process would remove entirely whatever basis(es) is already displayed in the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column, rather than adding the basis(es).

How to remove incorrect basis: If the wrong basis has been selected, click on the "Remove this [basis]" button before clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and return to Step 1, above, top. If you have already clicked on the "Assign Filing Basis: button, and the wrong basis now appears within the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column, you must (1) Click on the listed basis link (i.e., either 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), or 44(e)); (2) Click on the displayed "Remove this [basis]" button; and (3) Return to Step 1, above, top. Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather that clicking on each entry separately.

How to change data within a correctly assigned basis OR re-attach image files if now using a saved form: If the filing basis is correct, but either (1) changes must be made to information therein (for 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)); or (2) image file(s) must be re-attached, because you are using a saved form and the attachments were not carried forward, due to browser security reasons (for a specimen under 1(a), or a foreign registration certificate under 44(e)), you must (1) Click on the listed basis link under the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column; (2) Enter data changes within the re-displayed basis information section, or re-attach the image file(s); and (3) Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button after making all necessary changes. Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather than clicking on each entry separately.

Examples for one class or multiple classes, with same multiple filing bases for ALL listed items in class(es): The application has Class 25, with a filing basis of Section 1(a) AND 44(d) for all goods (shirts, pants). The application has Classes 14 and 25, with a filing basis of Section 1(b) and 44(e) for all goods (jewelry in Class 14 and shirts, pants, in Class 25).

Note: Use in commerce (Section 1(a)) and intent to use (Section 1(b)) cannot be claimed for identical goods or services; Section 1(a) and Section 1(b) are mutually exclusive for identical listings.

Scenario 3: One class or multiple classes, with different filing basis(es) for different goods/services within the same class, and/or for different overall classes:

The steps listed below will also be appropriate if either of these factual scenarios applies to your application:

 

  1. If you have multiple classes of goods and/or services, and you are assigning a Section 1(a) basis to each of the classes, or using a different foreign application (under 44(d)) or foreign registration (under Section 44(e)) for each of the classes, you must assign the basis separately for each class; or
  2. If you have a single class, but there are different dates of use (under Section 1(a)) or different foreign applications (under Section 44(d)) or foreign registrations (under Section 44(e)) for goods/services within the class, you must assign the basis separately for any entry having different data.

How to assign basis:

 

  1. Determine which of the 4 filing bases you wish to assign first, and click the checkbox in front of any entry to which you do not want to assign this filing basis initially (because the entries are in different classes, or have different data), to "un-highlight" those entries. All remaining "highlighted" entries are now ready for assignment of whatever initial filing basis you will select, at Step 2.
  2. Click on the filing basis button displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services.
  3. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)). Note: You cannot select Section 1(b), Intent to Use, and Section 1(a), Actual use, for the same item.*
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 before continuing, if there are multiple foreign applications or registrations supporting an entry.
  5. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once any basis is selected.
  6. Return to the list of goods/services, and click the checkbox(es) for those entry(ies) to which you wish to apply a basis, to now highlight the entries; then, repeat Steps 2-5, above.
  7. Repeat this same process, if appropriate, to assign yet another basis.
  8. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

*Also, you cannot provide different basis data within a single entry. E.g., if you enter the listing of goods as "Clothing, namely, pants, shirts," and you have different use dates for the pants and shirts, the identification as entered will not accommodate this. You must enter the items separately, with "pants" as one entry and "shirts" as a second entry, and then provide the specific data for each.

How to remove incorrect basis: If the wrong basis has been selected, click on the "Remove this [basis]" button before clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and return to Step 1, above, top.

If you have already clicked on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and the wrong basis now appears within the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column, you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link (i.e., either 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), or 44(e));
  2. Click on the displayed "Remove this [basis]" button; and
  3. Return to Step 1 of How to Assign a Filing Basis, above. Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather that clicking on each entry separately.

How to change data within a correctly assigned basis OR re-attach image files if now using a saved form: If the filing basis is correct, but either (1) changes must be made to information therein (for 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)); or (2) image file(s) must be re-attached, because you are using a saved form and the attachments were not carried forward, due to browser security reasons (for a specimen under 1(a), or a foreign registration certificate under 44(e)), you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link under the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column;
  2. Enter data changes within the re-displayed basis information section, or re-attach the image file(s);
  3. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button after making all necessary changes.

Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather than clicking on each entry separately.

Examples for one class or multiple classes, with different filing basis(es) for different goods/services within the same class, and/or for different overall classes: Application has Class 025, with shirts under use in commerce (Section 1(a)) and pants under intent to use (Section 1(b)). Note: This is permissible, because although the Section 1(a) basis and Section 1(b) basis are being applied to the same class, they are being applied to different items within the class. Application has Class 014, with a filing basis of Section 1(a) for jewelry AND Class 025, with a filing basis of Section 1(b) for shirts, pants. Note: This is permissible, because the Section 1(a) and Section 1(b) bases are being applied to different classes.

Scenario 4: One class, with different filing basis(es) for different goods/services within the same class: If you have a single class, but there are different dates of use (under Section 1(a)) or different foreign applications (under Section 44(d)) or foreign registrations (under Section 44(e)) for goods/services within the class, you must make separate free-text entries for any item(s) for which the data will differ; i.e., there must be totally separate "box" for those entries, rather than having all entries combined into the same field.

How to assign basis:

 

  1. Determine which of the 4 filing bases you wish to assign first, and click the checkbox in front of any entry to which you do not want to assign this filing basis initially (because the entries have different data), to "un-highlight" those entries. All remaining "highlighted" entries are now ready for assignment of whatever initial filing basis you will select, at Step 2.
  2. Click on the filing basis button displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services.
  3. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)). Note: You cannot select Section 1(b), Intent to Use, and Section 1(a), Actual use, for the same item.*
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 before continuing, if there are multiple foreign applications or registrations supporting an entry.
  5. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once any basis is selected.
  6. Return to the list of goods/services, and click the checkbox(es) for those entry(ies) to which you wish to apply a basis, to now highlight the entries; then, Steps 2-5, above.
  7. Repeat this same process, if appropriate, to assign yet another basis.
  8. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

* Also, you cannot provide different basis data within a single entry. For example, if you enter the listing of goods as "Clothing, namely, pants, shirts," and you have different use dates for the pants and shirts, the identification as entered will not accommodate this. You must enter the items separately, with "pants" as one entry and "shirts" as a second entry, and then provide the specific data for each.

How to remove incorrect basis: If the wrong basis has been selected, click on the "Remove this [basis]" button before clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and return to Step 1, above, top. If you have already clicked on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and the wrong basis now appears within the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column, you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link (i.e., either 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), or 44(e));
  2. Click on the displayed "Remove this [basis]" button; and
  3. Return to Step 1, above, top.

Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather that clicking on each entry separately.

How to change data within a correctly assigned basis OR re-attach image files if now using a saved form: If the filing basis is correct, but either (1) changes must be made to information therein (for 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)); or (2) image file(s) must be re-attached, because you are using a saved form and the attachments were not carried forward, due to browser security reasons (for a specimen under 1(a), or a foreign registration certificate under 44(e)), you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link under the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column;
  2. Enter data changes within the re-displayed basis information section, or re-attach the image file(s); and
  3. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button after making all necessary changes.

Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather than clicking on each entry separately.

Examples for one class, with different filing basis(es) for different goods/services within the same class: Application has Class 025, with shirts under use in commerce (Section 1(a)) and pants under intent to use (Section 1(b)). Note: This is permissible, because although the Section 1(a) basis and Section 1(b) basis are being applied to the same class, they are being applied to different items within the class.

Scenario 5: Multiple classes, with different filing basis(es) for different overall classes:

How to assign basis:

 

  1. Determine which of the 4 filing bases you wish to assign first, and click the checkbox in front of any entry to which you do not want to assign this filing basis initially (because the entries are in different classes, or have different data), to "un-highlight" those entries. All remaining "highlighted" entries are now ready for assignment of whatever initial filing basis you will select, at Step 2.
  2. Click on the filing basis button displayed beneath the listing of Goods and/or Services.
  3. Complete all mandatory fields, where additional information is required (i.e., for Section 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)). Note: You cannot select Section 1(b), Intent to Use, and Section 1(a), Actual use, for the same item.*
  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 before continuing, if there are multiple foreign applications or registrations supporting an entry.
  5. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, which appears at the bottom of the screen once any basis is selected.
  6. Return to the list of goods/services, and click the checkbox(es) for those entry(ies) to which you wish to apply a basis, to now highlight the entries; then, repeat Steps 2-5, above.
  7. Repeat this same process, if appropriate, to assign yet another basis.
  8. Click on the CONTINUE button when you have finished assigning the basis for all listed items.

* Also, you cannot provide different basis data within a single entry. For example, if you enter the listing of goods as "Clothing, namely, pants, shirts," and you have different use dates for the pants and shirts, the identification as entered will not accommodate this. You must enter the items separately, with "pants" as one entry and "shirts" as a second entry, and then provide the specific data for each.

How to remove incorrect basis: If the wrong basis has been selected, click on the "Remove this [basis]" button before clicking on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and return to Step 1, above. If you have already clicked on the "Assign Filing Basis" button, and the wrong basis now appears within the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column, you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link (i.e., either 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), or 44(e));
  2. Click on the displayed "Remove this [basis]" button; and
  3. Return to Step 1, above.

Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather that clicking on each entry separately.

How to change data within a correctly assigned basis OR re-attach image files if now using a saved form: If the filing basis is correct, but either (1) changes must be made to information therein (for 1(a), 44(d), or 44(e)); or (2) image file(s) must be re-attached, because you are using a saved form and the attachments were not carried forward, due to browser security reasons (for a specimen under 1(a), or a foreign registration certificate under 44(e)), you must:

 

  1. Click on the listed basis link under the "Assigned Filing Basis(es)" column;
  2. Enter data changes within the re-displayed basis information section, or re-attach the image file(s); and
  3. Click on the "Assign Filing Basis" button after making all necessary changes.

Note: If there are multiple entries, and you need to make the same change for all entries, you can click on the "Select all" box to highlight all entries at once, rather than clicking on each entry separately.

Examples for one class, with different filing basis(es) for different goods/services within the same class: Application has Class 025, with shirts under use in commerce (Section 1(a)) and pants under intent to use (Section 1(b)). Note: This is permissible, because although the Section 1(a) basis and Section 1(b) basis are being applied to the same class, they are being applied to different items within the class.

Search Instructions:

 

  1. Click on each item to be selected from the presented list. If an item has been selected by mistake, simply click on the box again to "uncheck" the box.
  2. When all desired items have been checked, click on the "Insert Checked Entries" button. Or, if a new search is to be performed, enter the new search term(s), click on GO, and then start again at Step 1. Note: If multiple searches are to be performed, do NOT click on the "Insert Checked Entries" button until ALL desired items have a checkmark. Clicking on the "Insert Checked Entries" button should always be the absolute FINAL step in building the overall goods/services list for this application.
  3. If the selected entry requires insertion of additional information, e.g., "Books in the field of {indicate subject matter}", after clicking on the "Insert Checked Entries" button, an additional screen will provide a free-text field for typing in the requested information. Note: The additional screen will ONLY be displayed if the entry REQUIRES insertion of additional information; otherwise, the entry must be used exactly as presented from the ID Manual (do not, e.g., try to modify the listing through the miscellaneous statement section of the form). If that listing is not satisfactory, then the only option is to file via TEAS Standard option, using the free-text entry.

Searching: Although not required, the USPTO recommends that you search the trademark database for any mark for which you may want to seek federal trademark registration. Searching helps you determine whether any mark has already been registered or applied for that is similar to your mark and used on related products or for related services. The USPTO cannot provide guidance for searching beyond the HELP provided within the trademark database. However, at a minimum, applicant should understand that a complete search is one that will uncover ALL similar marks not just those that are identical. Searching for trademark availability is not the same as searching to register a ".com" address. A ".com" address search may focus on exact or "dead-on" hits, with no consideration given to similar names or use with related products and services. Basically, a ".com" address is either available or it is not. Also, if available, you can register a ".com" address on the same day as your search. The trademark process, on the other hand, is more complex. As part of the overall examination process, the USPTO will search its database to determine whether registration must be refused because a similar mark is already registered for related products or services. We do not offer advisory opinions on the availability of a mark prior to filing of an actual application. For the guidelines used to examine applications, see the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedures (TMEP).

Serial Number: Enter the 8-digit USPTO assigned serial number, e.g., 78658234.

Serial/Registration Number: Enter either

 

  1. the 8-digit USPTO assigned serial number, e.g., 78658234; or
  2. the 5, 6, or 7 digits USPTO registration number (e.g., 1234567). If necessary, add a leading "0", e.g., 0936427.

Sign Directly: The individual completing the application may, if they so choose, sign directly at the end of the application form. The application will not be "signed" in the sense of a traditional paper document. To verify the contents of the application, the signatory will personally enter any alpha/numeric character(s) or combination thereof of their choosing in the signature block on the application form, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol. The USPTO does not determine or pre-approve what the entry should be, but simply presumes that this specific entry has been adopted to serve the function of the signature. Most signatories simply enter their names between the two forward slashes, although acceptable "signatures" could include /john doe/, /jd/, or /123-4567/.

Signatory's Name: Enter the name of the person signing the form.

Signatory's Phone: Enter the phone number of the person signing the form.

Signatory's Position: Enter the appropriate title or equivalent for the signatory's position, (e.g., "President," "General Partner," "duly authorized officer") or the relationship to the mark owner (e.g., "Manager," "Trademark Administrator").

 

  1. For an individual applicant signing on their own behalf, enter "Owner."
  2. For an attorney representing the owner, enter "Attorney of record."

Signature Combinations: The following signature combinations are possible:

  1. Petition: Direct, e-signature, or handwritten pen-and-ink;
  2. Petition and Declaration: (a) Combine direct signature for petition with e-signature for declaration; or (b) E-signature for both;
  3. Petition and Response: (a) Combine direct signature for petition with e-signature for response; or (b) E-signature for both;
  4. Petition and Declaration and Response: (a) Combine direct signature for petition and direct signature for declaration and e-signature for response; or (b) Direct for all three; or (c) Handwritten pen-and-ink for petition with direct or e-signature for the declaration and/or response.

Signature Method: Select one of the following signature methods. If using an electronic signature option, the appropriate person (i.e., (1) a person with legal authority to bind the applicant; or (2) a person with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on behalf of the applicant; or (3) an attorney who has an actual or implied written or verbal power of attorney from the applicant) must personally sign the form by entering a an electronic signature (a combination of characters preceded and followed by the forward slash symbol (/) e.g., /rdr/ or /127/ or /jane smith/). Someone else should NOT type the electronic signature on behalf of the proper signatory. If there are joint or multiple applicants, or if it is corporate policy to have two or more officers sign the application for one applicant, each must sign and provide the relevant information.

Signature: The appropriate person must electronically sign the form by personally typing in any combination of alpha numeric characters preceded and followed by the forward slash symbol (/); e.g., /jane smith/, /rdr/, or /127/). This electronic signature should not be typed in by someone else on behalf of the proper signatory. If there are joint or multiple applicants, each must personally type in an electronic signature and provide the relevant signature information.

Signed Declaration: A signed declaration is not required when originally filing the application. An application filed without a signature will be given a filing date, provided the minimum filing date requirements have been satisfied, namely, those fields designated with a red asterisk on the application form. However, a signed declaration must be provided before the application may be approved for publication. Also, a signed declaration is required when certain changes are made in the application as follows:

 

  1. dates of use are added or modified;
  2. a new or additional specimen(s) of use is submitted;
  3. a claim of distinctiveness under Section §2(f), based on use, is entered;
  4. a claim of distinctiveness under Section §2(f), in part, based on use, is entered; and/or
  5. a new filing basis is added (i.e., Section 1(b), Section 44(d), and/or Section 44(e)).

Significance of Wording, Letter(s), or Numeral(s): If any word(s), letter(s), or numeral(s) appearing in the mark have a significance in the relevant trade or industry or as applied to the goods and/or services in the application, applicant should specify the significance to avoid inquiry by the examining attorney, e.g., "X-10" could be used as a specific model number, and this significance should be noted. If it appears that the word(s), letter(s), or numeral(s) may have significance, particularly to someone unfamiliar with the specific usage of the word(s), letter(s), or numeral(s), but in reality the usage is only as a trademark, applicant should indicate that there is no significance in the relevant trade or industry or as applied to the goods and/or services listed in the application, no geographical significance, and no meaning in a foreign language.

Sole Proprietorship: Select the state or country under whose laws the sole proprietorship is organized. In the designated field, enter the name of the individual who composes the sole proprietorship and select their country of citizenship from the dropdown menu. Note: The sole proprietorship may be the same as the name of the individual who composes the sole proprietorship.

Special Form (Stylized and/or Design): Use this option if you wish to register a mark that is comprised of stylized word(s), letter(s), and/or number(s), and/or a design element. The design may appear by itself, or combined with word(s), letter(s), and/or number(s).

Specifying the Exact Changes: You must spell out the exact changes that the examining attorney is to consider in your response. If the examining attorney has requested certain language, then you must repeat that language in the proper portion of the response. Even if you are agreeing with what the examining attorney may have set forth in the Office action, you must repeat this information in your response.

Specimen File: Attach at least one .jpg or .pdf image file (or, if a sound or motion mark, an electronic file in .wav, .wmv, .wma, .mp3, .mpg, or .avi format) showing the mark as used in commerce on or in connection with any item listed in the description of goods and/or services. This is not the same as the image of only your mark that was entered in the Mark Information section. Instead, you must show how you are actually using the mark in commerce. For example, for goods, acceptable specimens would consist of scanned or digitally photographed tags and labels affixed to the goods, instruction manuals, or containers that show the mark on the goods or packaging. Invoices, announcements, order forms, bills of lading, leaflets, brochures, publicity releases and other printed advertising material generally are not acceptable specimens for goods. Examples of acceptable service mark specimens are signs, photographs, brochures or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services. If the goods and/or services are classified in more than one international class, one specimen must be provided showing the mark used on or in connection with at least one item from each of these classes. To attach the specimen(s), click on the browse button to select the file that is stored on the applicant's local drive and that contains the specimen(s). The image may be in color or black-and-white; however, if color is being claimed as a feature of the mark, then the specimen must be in color. Multiple files may be uploaded; however, only one specimen is required. That is, for example, if you have several different clothing items in Class 25, a specimen showing a label on a shirt is sufficient for the overall class. You do not need to provide separate specimens for pants, dresses, hats, etc.

Specimen Image File: Attach at least one .jpg or .pdf image file showing the mark as used in commerce on or in connection with any item listed in the description of goods and/or services. This is not the same as the image of your mark that was entered in the Mark Information section. Instead, you must show how you are actually using the mark in commerce. For example, for goods, acceptable specimens would consist of scanned or digitally photographed tags and labels affixed to the goods, instruction manuals, or containers that show the mark on the goods or packaging. Invoices, announcements, order forms, bills of lading, leaflets, brochures, publicity releases and other printed advertising material generally are not acceptable specimens for goods. Examples of acceptable service mark specimens are signs, photographs, brochures or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services. If the goods and/or services are classified in more than one international class, one specimen must be provided showing the mark used on or in connection with at least one item from each of these classes. To attach the specimen(s), click on the browse button to select the file that is stored on the applicant's local drive and that contains the specimen(s). The image may be in color or black-and-white; however, if color is being claimed as a feature of the mark, then the specimen must be in color. Multiple files may be uploaded; however, only one specimen is required. For example, if you have several different clothing items in Class 25, a specimen showing a label on a shirt is sufficient for the overall class. You do not need to provide separate specimens for pants, dresses, hats, etc.

Standard Characters: Use this option to register a mark that is comprised of word(s), letter(s), number(s), or any combination thereof with no design element or stylization. The application must also include a statement that "The mark consists of standard characters without claim to any particular font, style, size, or color." The electronic form will automatically generate the correct statement. Registration of a mark in standard characters will provide broad rights, namely, use in any manner of presentation. To be eligible for a claim of standard characters, the entered character(s) must appear in the accepted standard character set; you must be able to enter these characters directly into the designated field of the form. You can cut and paste standard characters from the standard character set directly into the mark field on this form.

State: Enter that state by selecting the proper entry in the drop-down menu.

State: For a United States address, enter that state by selecting the proper state from the menu. For a foreign address, enter the territory, state, or province in the city field after the name of the city.

State: For addresses in the United States, enter the state in which the entity is located by selecting from the drop-down menu.

State: For addresses in the United States, enter that state by selecting the proper entry in the drop-down menu.

State: For addresses in the United States, enter that state by selecting the proper entry in the drop-down menu.

State: For an update owner address in the United States, enter that state by selecting the proper state from the menu. For a foreign address, enter the territory, state, or province in the city field after the name of the city.

Stippling as a Feature of the Mark: If applicant's or registrant's mark contains stippling and that stippling is a feature of the mark, applicant or registrant should indicate that the stippling is a feature of the mark by choosing this statement. See TMEP § 808.01(b).

Stippling for Shading Purposes Only: If applicant's or registrant's mark contains stippling and that stippling is for shading purposes only, applicant or registrant should indicate that the stippling is for shading purposes only by choosing this statement. See TMEP § 808.01(b).

Street Address: Enter the domestic representative's internal address, e.g., Suite 200, or Room 10G3.

Street Address: Enter the street address or the rural delivery route of the person to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Street Address: Enter the domestic representative's street address.

Street Address: Enter the entity's mailing address.

Street Address: Enter the street address of the correspondent.

Street Address: Enter the attorney's street address.

Submit a Better Quality Image: If the examining attorney has required the submission of a new drawing (Mark Image), answer YES and YES to the form wizard questions, and then attach a .jpg image file (the only image file type accepted) showing a better quality image of the mark. Please note the following:

  1. Mark images should not include the trademark, service mark or registration symbol (TM, SM, ®). These symbols should only appear on specimens.
  2. Mark images should be submitted with as little white space around the design as possible.
  3. All black-and-white .jpg images and color .jpg images must be scanned at no less than 300 dots per inch and no more than 350 dots per inch, and with a length and width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels, e.g., 640 X 480 pixels is a valid pixel dimension. To ensure your image file meets these suggested sizes, you may follow the instructions found under Properly-Sized JPG Image File.
  4. Mark images submitted as "Black-and-White" images must consist of a black-and-white image or a grayscale image in the .jpg format. Instruction on saving a .jpg image in black and white or greyscale are found under Black and White Image.
  5. After validation, you should be able to view your image from the validation page. If you cannot view your images they are not properly attached. Note: The Mark image may appear huge when you review the images via the links displayed on the Validation Page, and you may not be able to print them in the proper dimensions from this page (i.e., the mark image must print no larger than 3.15 x 3.15 inches (8 x 8 cms)). This does not indicate that there is a problem with your image file. Current browser and monitor technologies display all images at 72 dpi, causing images scanned at a higher dpi level to appear huge after attachment. The USPTO can process your image file, if you were able to save and print your image attachment from your image creating software in the proper dimensions prior to attaching the image to the form. See #3, above, for details on proper image size.
  6. Images must be properly saved with the file extensions .jpg. We cannot open image files that are not properly saved prior to attachment.
  7. Do not zip your image files or add any additional compression to the .jpg files.

Submit a Foreign Registration Certificate: Attach a copy, a certification, or a certified copy of the foreign registration in .jpg or .pdf file format. If the filer submits a copy of the foreign registration, it must be a copy of a document that has been issued by or certified by the intellectual property office in the country of origin.

If the foreign registration is not in English, provide a translation of the foreign registration with the copy of the foreign registration. The translator should sign the translation, but need not swear to the translation.

Submission of the copy of the foreign registration certificate is not required to receive a filing date; however, the foreign registration(s) must be in force at the time of filing of the U.S. application and must be filed before the application may proceed to registration, i.e., the foreign registration must be "live" at the time the United States issues the registration based on that foreign registration.

Substantive Refusal: If the examining attorney has refused your mark for any substantive legal reason, you are entitled to submit arguments in support of registration. You should simply and completely address the points raised by the examining attorney in the Office Action. Although not required, you may provide case law support as appropriate. If the examining attorney is convinced by your arguments, the examining attorney will withdraw the refusal(s). If not convinced, and assuming there are no other new issues, the examining attorney will issue a final refusal. Your options at that point are:

  1. appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative adjudication board;
  2. file a request for reconsideration with additional arguments and/or amendments; or
  3. not respond, which will lead to abandonment of the application.

You may still be entitled to use this mark as your "trademark" or "service mark; however, you would not have the rights associated with a federal registration. You should seek the advice of an attorney experienced in U.S. trademark matters for a more complete explanation of anything in this form you do not understand or for any other legal advice relating to the use and/or registration of your trademark or service mark. The USPTO cannot recommend an individual attorney or law firm.

Suggesting changes to ID Manual: You can make a request to have an identification added to the ID Manual by emailing TMIDSUGGEST@uspto.gov. Your suggestion will be reviewed in approximately one working day, and you will receive a response as to whether it (1) can be entered in the ID Manual as you have written and classified it; (2) will be added with modifications and what those modifications will be; or (3) cannot be added and a brief explanation as to why it cannot be added. This vehicle is not a forum for extended discussion as to whether a proposed identification can or cannot be added to the ID Manual. However, if your suggestion is not accepted, you are welcome to submit a new proposal, taking into consideration the comments made in the email explaining why your suggestion could not be entered. The ID Manual is updated every week, and new entries appear Thursday morning. Note: The TEAS Plus version of the ID Manual intentionally does not include items classified in Classes A, B, or 200, because those marks are not eligible for filing under TEAS Plus. Also not included are any listings that appear in the "regular" manual under "000," because correct classification is required under TEAS Plus, and classification for these listings varies according to the additional information provided within the listing.

Supplemental Register: A mark in an intent-to-use application under 15 U.S.C. §1051(b) is not eligible for registration on the Supplemental Register until the applicant has submitted an acceptable allegation of use (i.e., either an amendment to allege use that meets the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§2.76(b) and (c), or a statement of use that meets the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§2.88(b) and (c)). 37 C.F.R. §§2.47(d), 2.75(b). If an application is based solely on §1(b), and the applicant files an acceptable amendment to allege use or statement of use and an acceptable amendment to the Supplemental Register, the USPTO will consider the filing date of the amendment to allege use or statement of use to be the effective filing date of the application. The applicant may amend to the Supplemental Register after a refusal to register on the Principal Register, including a final refusal. If the final refusal was under §2(e)(1), §2(e)(2) or §2(e)(4) of the Trademark Act, or on grounds pertaining to other non-inherently distinctive subject matter, amendment to the Supplemental Register is procedurally an acceptable response. See 37 C.F.R. §2.75.

Supporting Evidence: You may attach evidence in the form of .jpg and/or .pdf files. However, please note that submission of an overall response as a .jpg or .pdf file is NOT permissible, i.e., do not use this section or any other section of the form to attach a multi-page document consisting of arguments, evidence, revised identifications of goods/services, additional statements, etc. Any portion of this form that exists for a specific purpose must be used for that purpose, rather than trying to address all the different issue in single .pdf or .jpg attachment. Failure to follow this instruction will cause significant delays in the processing and review of your response.

Text Entry: Either type directly into the free-text area below or cut-and-paste from another document into this area.

Do NOT include any html or other programming code or language that may create links within this section.

If the browser version displaying this page supports the enhanced functionality of this fee text-area, the text may be formatted using the various editing keys displayed above the text entry area (for font, size, color, bold, italics, etc.) If no editing keys are displayed above the text entry area, then the browser displaying the page does not support the enhanced text-editing functionality. The filer may wish to upgrade to a newer browser. The free-text area may still be used for entry of text, but no formatting beyond conventional spacing will be possible.

When the text entry is complete, click on the "Next" button, below. Do not use the "X" button within the browser to close the window, as this may delete all entered information. The form will retain any formatting, viewable through the icons in the Validation Section of this form. Immediately before submitting the form, confirm that all information is displayed properly, regardless of the appearance of the data at any point earlier in the process. If any previously-entered text is missing, re-enter that text before submitting the form. Otherwise, the USPTO will not receive a complete submission.

Text Form: If you are completing the application and will be signing the application yourself, you do not need to use this option. Instead, select the "Sign Directly" option, (the "default" setting of the form.) Simply complete the application and enter your signature directly within the posted form.

The "text form" is a narrative, paragraph-style version of the application information, absent any "tagged" data fields. It most closely resembles a traditional written document, and is accessed from the Validation Screen after the Signature Section. The text form is designed to facilitate the signature of the form by another party, and no other data can be manipulated; i.e., the "web-based" form may be completed and validated, and then the resulting "text" form may be either emailed to the proper signatory as a "hyperlink" or saved and sent to the proper signatory for a pen and ink signature.

If the text form is emailed, the signatory will sign and date the application by affixing the "electronic signature," consisting of an arbitrary alpha-numeric combination placed between two forward slash symbols (e.g., /john smith/). The signed version automatically is returned to the original preparer, who can then complete the submission process to the USPTO. Note: From the point of validation, you must get the application signed, returned, and filed to the USPTO within two weeks. Otherwise, you must complete the process again.

If you would like more time, you can download and save the portable form (available at the Validation Page) indefinitely. You may print out or save the text form (also available at the Validation Page) as a .jpg or pdf and email, mail, or fax the text form to the signatory, who will sign the form in the traditional "pen-and-ink" manner, and then mail, fax or scan and email the signed form back to the preparer. The handwritten signed version should be scanned and re-attached as a .jpg or .pdf file and attached to the saved electronic application; the complete application can then be validated and filed electronically.

Total Fee Due: This reflects what the total fee amount due for all classes would be. This will NOT be the correct amount, if the free-text approach for the goods/services has been used, and different filing bases exist within the same class. You must manually adjust the Total Fee Paid amount, using the pull-down box to select the correct fee amount.

Note: If you are NOT filing using the TEAS Plus filing option, although not encouraged, you may choose to pay for only one (1) class in a multi-class application. The examining attorney would then issue a requirement for submission of the additional fees during the examination process.

Total Paid Fees: You must enter the amount that you are actually paying at the time of this submission. It may differ from the amount shown at "Total Fee Due," either because:

 

  1. the number of classes displayed was not correct, because the free-text approach for the goods/services had been used, and different filing bases exist within the same class; or
  2. you are choosing to pay for only one (1) class in a multi-class application.

Note: Although #2 is not encouraged, this is permissible if you are NOT filing using the TEAS Plus filing option. The examining attorney would then issue a requirement for submission of the additional fees during the examination process.

Track Change Feature for Modified Identification of Goods/Services: If the identification of goods and/or services is modified in any way, the input table and text form will highlight the specific changes. The current description of goods/services appearing in the USPTO database prior to any change appears first. The form is automatically pre-populated with this data. This section will be followed by a "tracked text description." In this section, any deletions and/or additions of text will be highlighted, as follows:

 

  1. Deletions: Any text deleted will be shown within brackets and underlined. The system relies on semi-colons or commas as a "delimiter" for this process, meaning that any deletion of even a single word between two semi-colons or commas will result in a strike-through of the entire entry, with the intended updated wording shown in red and underlined. Where a single entry is simply deleted, then all that will appear is the bracketed/struck through wording.
  2. Additions: Any text added will be shown in red and underlined, as a new stand-alone entry. However, where wording is added in the middle of an existing word string, then the original wording is first shown as being deleted entirely, and then the new wording is presented in its entirety.

The third section is called "Final Description" and will show the changes fully integrated into the listing as would ultimately appear in the Official Gazette, i.e., absent any of the special "track change" features used in the previous section.

Translation: Enter both the English translation of the foreign wording in the mark, or specify that no meaning exists in a foreign language. Note: When filing an application using the TEAS Plus filing option, the applicant must enter a translation of the mark, if applicable under the facts of the application.

Transliteration: Enter either the transliteration and English translation thereof, or enter the transliteration and specify that no meaning exists in a foreign language. Note: When filing an application using the TEAS Plus filing option, the applicant must enter a transliteration of the wording, and translation thereof.

Trust: Select the state or country under whose laws the trust exists. In the designated field, enter the name(s) and citizenship(s) of the individual trustees. If there are more than ten individual trustees, only enter the first ten trustees. Note: The Owner of Mark field, should identify the owner as the trustees of the trust and not the name of the trust, e.g., "The Trustees of the [specify name] Trust".

U.S. Congress may Lawfully Regulate: The type of commerce must specifically be such that the U.S. Congress may lawfully regulate it, namely, interstate commerce; territorial commerce (e.g., with Guam or American Samoa); or commerce between the United States and a foreign country.

Unsigned: The application may be submitted electronically with no signature, and still receive a filing date (i.e., signature is NOT a filing date requirement). However, before the application will be approved for publication, a signed declaration must be submitted. Consequently, submitting the original application unsigned, while acceptable, delays approval-processing time, and should be avoided, if possible.

Use of the Mark in Another Form: Enter both the date of first use anywhere and the date of first use in commerce, in the format MM/DD/YYYY, e.g., 12/03/1998. Both dates may be the same, or the date in commerce may be later than the first use anywhere; however, the date of first use in commerce may not precede the date of first use anywhere. The statement will be added as follows: The mark was first used anywhere in a different form other than that sought to be registered on ___________, and in commerce on ________."

Validate: This allows you to run an automated check to ensure that all mandatory fields have been completed. You will receive an "error" message if you do not file out a mandatory field. For other fields that the USPTO believes are important, but not mandatory, you will receive a "warning" message if the field is left blank. This warning is a courtesy, if non-completion was merely an oversight. If you so choose, you may by-pass the "warning" message and validate the form (however, you cannot by-pass an "error" message).

Note: A successful validation only means that the required fields have an entry. WE HAVE MADE NO DETERMINATION AT THIS TIME AS TO WHETHER THE INFORMATION ENTERED IS CORRECT. This will only occur during the prosecution of the application.

Once data in an application is validated, you will have the options of:

 

  1. printing the application, in whole or in part;
  2. going back and modifying the data in the application;
  3. downloading and saving the application; and/or
  4. submitting the application electronically for filing with the USPTO.

If you choose to submit an application or other filing electronically using the "Submit" button, an electronic receipt showing the information submitted will be returned the primary email address for correspondence. This receipt will confirm that the USPTO has received the application or filing. Note: For applications, within your actual session, you should also see a screen that says "SUCCESS! We have received your . . ." If you do NOT see this screen, then your submission did NOT reach the USPTO. An electronic receipt showing the information submitted should also be returned to the primary email address for correspondence. While this receipt serves as independent confirmation that the USPTO has received the application, the more important confirmation is that provided by the SUCCESS screen. I.e., non-receipt of the email confirmation should not be interpreted as an indication that the USPTO did not receive the filing; instead, it may simply be the result of a problem with the email address, or the Internet in general at the time the USPTO attempts to send out the email acknowledgement. Again, as long as the SUCCESS screen displays, the filer should not be unduly concerned if the separate email confirmation not arrive.

IMPORTANT WARNING REGARDING RE-ATTACHMENT OF IMAGE FILES: Due to technical limitations within the browsers now available, and to simplify the process and prevent possible errors, if you are filing an application or filing with .jpg image file(s) attached, these image files will NOT be available for viewing or printing from a previously saved application or filing. All image files must be re-attached to the application or filing before final submission to the USPTO.

Website Address: If applicant has a specific website address for its business, enter that address here. The purpose of this information will be to provide background information to the examining attorney in the examination of the goods and/or services listed in the application. It will not serve the specific purpose of a "specimen" of use, i.e., if the applicant is seeking registration under Section 1(a), use in commerce, the applicant will be required in the specific "Goods/Services" section of this form to upload an actual specimen image. If the desired specimen is the website, the applicant must produce a screenshot of the website page with the URL and the date accessed or printed, and upload that image as a .jpg or .pdf attachment. It is not sufficient merely to reference the website address itself.

Withdrawal Request Granted: The USPTO has granted the request of the prior representative to withdraw. For example, Attorney A was originally appointed in the application or in a power of attorney. Attorney A requested and was granted withdrawal of power of attorney. Attorney B seeks to file a response on behalf of the applicant. The USPTO will accept the response of Attorney B and recognize Attorney B as applicant's attorney in the matter.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the U.S. zip code or foreign country postal identification code of the owner's updated address.

Spaces in postal codes are unnecessary and are automatically removed. See the United States Postal Service’s countries that require postal codes table for formatting foreign postal codes.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the U.S. postal zip code for the domestic representative's address.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the U.S. zip code or foreign postal identification code of the correspondent.

Spaces in postal codes are unnecessary and are automatically removed. See the United States Postal Service’s countries that require postal codes table for formatting foreign postal codes.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the U.S. zip code or foreign country postal identification code.

Spaces in postal codes are unnecessary and are automatically removed. See the United States Postal Service’s countries that require postal codes table for formatting foreign postal codes.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the entity's U.S. zip code or foreign country postal identification code.

Spaces in postal codes are unnecessary and are automatically removed. See the United States Postal Service’s countries that require postal codes table for formatting foreign postal codes.

Zip Code/Postal Code: Enter the U.S. zip code or foreign country postal identification code.

Spaces in postal codes are unnecessary and are automatically removed. See the United States Postal Service’s countries that require postal codes table for formatting foreign postal codes.