website, business-registration, trademarkThe USPTO defines rules for the application for a US trademark. Two different application types are available:
[…] must include allegations concerning dates of use and specimens evidencing use as a filing requirement.
[…], a claim of a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, […]
Further:
The applicant must submit a statement of use within six months of that date, or request a six-month extension of time.
Our start-up business is building a web service, and we’re currently in beta operation. Customers aren’t charged yet.
Is this status of operation enough for an application based upon the use in commerce or do we have to reside to an intent-to-use application? If the latter, what do we have to provide for the statement of use?
The text on “Specimen” Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal specifies what counts as a specimen and what doesn’t. Specifically, the USPTO typically accepts
A webpage showing or describing the product near the mark and with purchasing information (e.g., a webpage showing a photograph of a computer laptop, the mark for the laptop appearing above the photograph, the price appearing below the photograph, and a shopping cart button/link appearing on the page)
On the other hand, the specimen is refused if
The specimen is a webpage that fails to include ordering information, pricing, and/or an association between the applied-for mark and an applicant’s goods
Hence, the commerce aspect of a product defines its use status.
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