Go to TMEP - Table of Contents

Chapter 800

Application Requirements

801 Types of Applications

801.01 Single or Combined Application

801.01(a) Single (Single-Class) Application

801.01(b) Combined (Multiple-Class) Application

801.02 Principal Register or Supplemental Register

801.02(a) Act of 1946, Principal Register

801.02(b) Act of 1946, Supplemental Register

802 Application Form

803 Applicant

803.01 Who May Apply

803.02 Name of Applicant

803.02(a) Individual

803.02(b) Partnership, Joint Venture, or Other “Firm”

803.02(c) Corporation and Association

803.03 Legal Entity of Applicant

803.03(a) Individual or Sole Proprietorship

803.03(b) Partnership, Joint Venture, or Other “Firm”

803.03(c) Corporation, Association, Organization, and Company

803.03(d) Joint Applicants

803.03(e) Trusts, Conservatorships, and Estates

803.03(e)(i) Business Trusts

803.03(f) Governmental Bodies and Universities

803.03(g) Banking Institutions

803.03(h) Limited Liability Companies

803.03(i) Common Terms Designating Entity of Foreign Applicants

803.03(j) Federally Recognized Indian Tribe

803.03(k) Limited Liability Partnerships

803.04 Citizenship of Applicant

803.05 Address of Applicant

803.06 Applicant May Not Be Changed

804 Verification and Signature

804.01 Form and Wording of Verification in §1 or §44 Application

804.01(a) Verification with Oath

804.01(a)(i) Verification Made in Foreign Country

804.01(b) Declaration in Lieu of Oath

804.02 Averments Required in Verification of Application for Registration - §1 or §44 Application

804.03 Time Between Execution and Filing of Documents - §1 or §44 Application

804.04 Persons Authorized to Sign Verification or Declaration

804.05 Verification of §66(a) Application

805 Identification and Classification of Goods and Services

806 Filing Basis

806.01 Requirements for Establishing a Basis

806.01(a) Use in Commerce - §1(a)

806.01(b) Intent-to-Use - §1(b)

806.01(c) Foreign Priority - §44(d)

806.01(d) Foreign Registration — §44(e)

806.01(e) Extension of Protection of International Registration - §66(a)

806.02 Multiple Bases

806.02(a) Procedure for Asserting More Than One Basis

806.02(b) Applicant May File Under Both §1(a) and §1(b) in the Same Application

806.02(c) Examination of Specimens of Use in a Multiple-Basis Application

806.02(d) Abandonment of Multiple-Basis Applications

806.02(e) Allegation of Bona Fide Intention to Use Mark in Commerce Required Even if Application is Based on Both §44 and §1(a)

806.02(f) Section 44(d) Combined With Other Bases

806.02(g) Not Necessary to Repeat Allegation of Bona Fide Intention to Use Mark in Commerce in Multiple-Basis Application

806.03 Amendments to Add or Substitute a Basis

806.03(a) When Basis Can be Changed

806.03(b) Applicant May Add or Substitute a §44(d) Basis Only Within Six-Month Priority Period

806.03(c) Amendment From §1(a) to §1(b)

806.03(d) Amendment From §44 to §1(b)

806.03(e) Allegation of Use Required to Amend From §1(b) to §1(a)

806.03(f) Use in Commerce as of Application Filing Date Required to Add or Substitute §1(a) as a Basis in §44 Application

806.03(g) Amendment From §1(b) to §44

806.03(h) Effect of Substitution of Basis on Application Filing Date

806.03(i) Verification of Amendment Required

806.03(j) Petition to Amend Basis After Publication - §1 or §44 Application

806.03(j)(i) Amending the Basis of a §1(b) Application After Publication But Before Issuance of Notice of Allowance

806.03(j)(ii) Amending the Basis of a §1(b) Application Between Issuance of Notice of Allowance and Filing of Statement of Use

806.03(j)(iii) Amending the Basis of a §1(b) Application After Filing of Statement of Use But Before Approval for Registration

806.03(k) Basis Cannot be Changed in §66(a) Application

806.03(l) §66(a) Basis Cannot be Added to §1 or §44 Application

806.04 Deleting a Basis

806.04(a) Deletion of §1(b) Basis After Publication or Issuance of the Notice of Allowance

806.04(b) Retention of §44(d) Priority Filing Date Without Perfecting §44(e) Basis

806.05 Review of Basis Prior to Publication or Issue

807 Drawing

807.01 Drawing Must Show Only One Mark

807.02 Drawing Must Be Limited to Mark

807.03 Standard Character Drawings

807.03(a) Requirements for Standard Character Drawings

807.03(b) List of Standard Characters

807.03(c) Drawings Containing Both a Standard Character Claim and Designs or Other Elements

807.03(d) Changing From Special Form Elements to Standard Characters, or the Reverse, May be a Material Alteration

807.03(e) Standard Character Drawing and Specimen of Use

807.03(f) Standard Character Drawing and Foreign Registration

807.03(g) Drawings in “Typed” Format With No Standard Character Claim

807.03(h) Drawings Where the Format Is Unclear

807.03(i) Typed Drawings

807.04 Special Form Drawings

807.04(a) Characteristics of Special Form Drawings

807.04(b) When Special Form Drawing is Required

807.05 Electronically Submitted Drawings

807.05(a) Standard Character Drawings Submitted Electronically

807.05(a)(i) Long Marks in Standard Character Drawings

807.05(b) Special Form Drawings Submitted Electronically

807.05(c) Requirements for Digitized Images

807.06 Paper Drawings

807.06(a) Type of Paper and Size of Mark

807.06(b) Long Marks in Standard Character Drawings

807.06(c) Separate Drawing Page Preferred

807.07 Color in the Mark

807.07(a) Requirements for Color Drawings

807.07(a)(i) Color Must Be Claimed as a Feature of the Mark

807.07(a)(ii) Applicant Must Specify the Location of the Colors Claimed

807.07(b) Color Drawings Filed Without a Color Claim

807.07(c) Color Drawings Filed With an Incorrect Color Claim

807.07(d) Color Drawings that Contain Black, White, or Gray

807.07(d)(i) Applications Under §1

807.07(d)(ii) Applications Under §44

807.07(d)(iii) Applications Under §66(a)

807.07(e) Black-and-White Drawings and Color Claims

807.07(f) Black-and-White Drawings that Contain Gray or Black-and-White Drawings with a Mark Description that Refers to Black, White, or Gray

807.07(f)(i) TEAS, TEAS Plus, and §66(a) Applications

807.07(f)(ii) Applications Filed on Paper

807.07(g) Drawings in Applications Filed Before November 2, 2003

807.08 Broken Lines to Show Placement

807.09 “Drawing” of Sound, Scent, or Non-Visual Mark

807.10 Three Dimensional Marks

807.11 Marks With Motion

807.12 Mark on Drawing Must Agree with Mark on Specimen or Foreign Registration

807.12(a) Applications Under §1 of the Trademark Act

807.12(a)(i) Role of Punctuation in Determining Whether Mark on Drawing Agrees with Mark on Specimen

807.12(a)(ii) Punctuation on the Drawing but not on the Specimen

807.12(a)(iii) Punctuation on the Specimen but not on the Drawing

807.12(b) Applications Under §44 of the Trademark Act

807.12(c) Applications Under §66(a) of the Trademark Act

807.12(d) Mutilation or Incomplete Representation of Mark

807.12(e) Compound Word Marks and Telescoped Marks

807.13 Amendment of Mark

807.13(a) Amendment of Mark in Applications Under §§1 and 44

807.13(b) Mark in §66(a) Application Cannot be Amended

807.14 Material Alteration of Mark

807.14(a) Removal or Deletion of Matter from Drawing

807.14(b) Addition or Deletion of Previously Registered Matter

807.14(c) Addition or Deletion of Punctuation

807.14(d) Amendments to Correct “Internal Inconsistencies”

807.14(e) Amendments to Color Features of Marks

807.14(e)(i) Black-and-White Drawings

807.14(e)(ii) Marks that Include Color and Other Elements

807.14(e)(iii) Color Marks

807.14(f) Material Alteration: Case References

807.15 Substitute Drawings

807.16 Amendment of Drawings by the USPTO

807.17 Procedures for Processing Unacceptable Amendments to Drawings

807.18 Mark Drawing Code

808 Description of Mark

808.01 Guidelines for Requiring Description

808.01(a) Meaning of Term in Mark

808.01(b) Lining and Stippling Statements for Drawings

808.02 Description Must Be Accurate and Concise

808.03 Examination Procedure for Descriptions

808.03(a) Accurate and Complete Descriptions

808.03(b) No Description in Application

808.03(c) Accurate But Incomplete Description in Application or Amendment

808.03(c)(i) Accurate But Incomplete Descriptions in Cases Where a Description is Needed to Clarify the Mark and Should be Printed

808.03(c)(ii) Accurate But Incomplete Descriptions in Cases Where a Description Need Not Be Printed

808.03(d) Inaccurate Description in Application or Amendment

808.03(e) Amending Descriptions

808.03(f) Updating Design Coding

809 Translation and Transliteration of Non-English Wording in Mark

809.01 Examining Applications for Marks Comprising Non-English Wording that Do Not Include an Accurate Translation or Transliteration

809.01(a) Inquiry/Applicant’s Response Regarding Meaning in a Foreign Language

809.01(b) Limited Exceptions to Rules for Translations

809.01(b)(i) Foreign Terms Appearing in English Dictionary

809.01(b)(ii) Foreign Articles or Prepositions Combined with English Terms

809.01(b)(iii) Words From Dead or Obscure Languages

809.02 Equivalency in Translation

809.03 Printing of Translations and Transliterations

810 Filing Fee

810.01 Collection of Fees for Multiple Classes

810.02 Refunds

811 Designation of Domestic Representative

812 Identification of Prior Registrations of Applicant

812.01 Proving Ownership of Prior Registrations

813 Consent to Register by Particular Living Individual Whose Name or Likeness Appears in the Mark

813.01 Statement Printed in Official Gazette and on Registration Certificate

813.01(a) Name or Likeness is That of a Living Individual

813.01(b) Name or Likeness is Not That of a Living Individual

813.01(c) Updating TRAM Database

814 Requesting Additional Information

815 Application Filed on Supplemental Register

815.01 Marks Eligible for Principal Register Not Registrable on Supplemental Register

815.02 Elements Required

815.03 Filing on Supplemental Register is Not an Admission That the Mark Has Not Acquired Distinctiveness

815.04 Basis for Refusal of Registration of Matter That is Incapable

816 Amending Application to Supplemental Register

816.01 How to Amend

816.02 Effective Filing Date

816.03 Amendment to Different Register

816.04 Amendment After Refusal

816.05 Amendment After Decision on Appeal

817 Preparation of Application for Publication or Registration

818 Application Checklist

819 TEAS Plus

819.01 TEAS Plus Filing Requirements

819.01(a) Type of Mark

819.01(b) Applicant’s Name and Address

819.01(c) Applicant’s Legal Entity and Citizenship

819.01(d) Name and Address for Paper Correspondence

819.01(e) E-mail Address and Authorization for the USPTO to Send Correspondence By E-Mail

819.01(f) Basis or Bases for Filing

819.01(f)(i) Section 1(a) - Use in Commerce

819.01(f)(ii) Section 1(b) - Intent to Use

819.01(f)(iii) Section 44(e) - Foreign Registration

819.01(f)(iv) Section 44(d)

819.01(g) Identification and Classification of Goods/Services

819.01(h) Filing Fee

819.01(i) Drawing

819.01(j) Color Claim

819.01(k) Description of the Mark

819.01(l) Verification

819.01(m) Translation and/or Transliteration

819.01(n) Multiple-Class Applications

819.01(o) Consent to Registration of Name or Portrait

819.01(p) Prior Registration of the Same Mark

819.01(q) Concurrent Use Applications

819.02 Additional Requirements for a TEAS Plus Application

819.02(a) Receipt of Communications by E-Mail

819.02(b) Additional Documents That Must be Filed Through TEAS

819.03 Adding a Class During Examination

819.04 Procedures for Payment of TEAS Plus Processing Fee Per Class