One study confirms that up to 80 percent of all trademark applications submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are rejected initially, according to JD Supra. Before you submit your next trademark application, there are several points you should consider in order to effectively prevent it from joining this growing pile of rejected forms.
Understand the Common Reasons for Rejection
The first step that you need to take is to identify the most common reasons for rejection, because that list of reasons can be automatically used as a guide for you to follow when it comes to knowing which paths to avoid. For instance, applying for a trademark that is not distinctive in nature can lead to a rejection because it will need to be processed through the Supplemental Register instead. Other reasons include registering a generic word or phrase as well as developing a trademark that is too similar in nature to a trademark that has already been processed. LegalZoom reviews an extensive list of other rejection reasons for its clients before the trademark application is filed.
Conduct a Thorough Search First
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is to submit your trademark application before you actually take the time to search through TM office records, trade directories, state trademarks and even results for keyword searches to determine if there is already another duplicate trademark application that has been filed or approved in the past. LegalZoom reviews the applications of its customers and helps with the overall searching process in order to help reduce the risks of humiliation and embarrassment. By sending off your application without completing a search, you are setting yourself up for the possibility of failure simply because you didn’t do your research first.
Maintain a High Level of Honesty and Integrity
Another effective way to prevent your trademark application from experiencing rejection is to remain honest when it comes to accurately describing your goods and services. There are many different loopholes that can be taken in order to beat around the bush and cut corners with hopes of getting the application approved faster. Keep in mind that this “shortcut” really only leads to an expedited race towards rejection in general. Generic descriptive terminology and proposed marks that are misleading and deceptive in nature within your product and/or service description will lead to your inevitable failure, according to Yahoo.
Stay as Far Away from Scandal as Possible
As mentioned earlier, honesty and integrity are two key factors to consider whenever it comes to preventing this type of rejection from occurring. This also means that you will need to stay as far away from anything potentially scandalous as possible. Keep in mind that scandalous trademarks and concepts can truly be considered as being deceptive in nature which can quickly cause the entire process to backfire on you, requiring you to start over from scratch. If you decide to discuss all of your ideas and concepts with a legal expert, an attorney from LegalZoom reviews all of the available options on your behalf to ensure you stay away from potentially scandalous content all together.
Do Not Overwhelm Yourself
As is the case with any time-consuming and tedious process, it is relatively easy for you to overwhelm yourself with everything that is required. Whether you have received an abundance of rejection notices already or you have yet to submit your very first trademark application, it is important for you to follow these steps in order to approve your chances of getting your next application approved.
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