Top 3 Reasons a Trademark Application Will Get Rejected

If you’re applying for trademark protection you need to take the application process seriously. There are many reasons the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can use to reject your application. As Arizona trademark lawyers, we’ve seen trademark applications that get rejected for all kinds of reasons, but there are three reasons the USPTO seems to use more than others.

You Aren’t Using the Mark

In order for a trademark application to be approved, the mark must be in use and you have to prove that you’ve been using the mark in commerce across state lines. If the mark has only been used on a sign in your lobby, your application will most likely be rejected.

Someone Else Already Registered the Mark

This might seem obvious, but you can’t register a trademark that someone else already has. In fact, your application can be rejected for being too similar to another mark. The term to watch out for here is “confusingly similar.” Basically, if your mark might confuse a reasonable consumer into thinking they were buying a different brand, your trademark application will be rejected.

The Mark is Descriptive

The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish your company and/or products from another company, not to simply describe the product. For example, a company that makes pencils can’t trademark “pencil.” This rule is intended to prevent companies from trademarking things that would make it hard for industry competitors to describe their products without committing trademark infringement.

If your trademark application has been rejected for one of these reasons, or any other reason, call the Arizona trademark lawyers at Parsons & Goltry.

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