Common Trademark Rejection Reasons

Most trademark rejections come from a handful of predictable reasons, and knowing them before you file can save you from a wasted application.

The examining attorney is not being difficult, they are enforcing rules designed to keep the register clear and consumers unconfused.

The most common refusals

• The mark is merely descriptive of the goods or services
• It is confusingly similar to a registered mark
• The mark is generic for the category
• The specimen does not show actual use in commerce

How to avoid them

• Choose a suggestive or arbitrary mark, not a descriptive one
• Search thoroughly before you file
• Submit a specimen that clearly shows the mark in use
• File in the correct class from the start

Pick a distinctive name and run the search first, and you dodge the two rejection reasons that account for the vast majority of refusals.

If you get refused

A refusal is not the end, most can be overcome with a strong argument or a slight amendment to the mark or the goods.

• Read the refusal carefully
• Respond with evidence
• Consider narrowing the goods