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How can I prevent USPTO from dismissing my trademark application?

Founder & Trademark Attorney

The most effective steps are a thorough trademark search before filing and ensuring the mark has sufficient distinctiveness.

Conducting a search through the USPTO's TESS database identifies existing similar marks before filing. A mark that is confusingly similar to an existing registration is likely to receive a likelihood of confusion refusal; knowing about conflicts in advance allows you to adjust the mark or the goods and services list before submitting.

On distinctiveness, avoid terms that describe the goods or services directly. An invented word, an arbitrary term unrelated to the product, or a suggestive term is more likely to pass examination than a descriptive or generic one.

Ensuring the application is complete and correctly formatted from the start; accurate goods and services descriptions, an appropriate specimen for use-in-commerce filings, and a correct filing basis; avoids procedural office actions that delay the process.

Find out your registration chances with a free lawyer's check with Trama.

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