Source: https://morganreecehq.com/fight-frivolous-trademarks-part-8a/
Timestamp: 2020-05-30 18:55:05
Document Index: 767155439

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 8', 'art 6', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 6', 'art 6', 'art 8', 'art 4']

On Fighting Frivolous Trademarks, Part 8a: Letter of Protest Loopholes - Morgan Reece
This post is part of a 12-part series that examines why so many frivolous trademarks are registered, how it affects the print-on-demand industry, and what you can do to help. In this post, you’ll learn about loopholes created by overly-strict Letter of Protest rules. (To see an overview of the series, go to the “At the Beach” poem introduction or scroll to the bottom for an ordered list of posts.)
USPTO’s Letter of Protest procedure has helped slow down some faulty registrations. But there are a few problems with the current system that bias everything toward faulty registrations.
Why so many frivolous trademarks? The hands of USPTO’s examining attorneys are tied by loopholes, fuzzy language, and overly-strict protest rules. Facts are friendly, and once these issues are identified, maybe they can be removed.
In Part 6 of this series, I tried to point out some of the fuzzy language from Lord Case Law and Tammy TMEP that leaves examiners confused and forced to issue faulty registrations. We’ll dive a little deeper into that in a minute. But first, let’s talk about loopholes.
Typical Example: Black Lives Matter Spin-Off
COLORED LIGHTS MATTER MERRY CHRISTMAS (SN 87594788) was very nearly a registered trademark.
The only reason it didn’t register is that the applicant failed to file their statement of use.
Never mind that this message is an obvious parody of the “Black Lives Matter” social campaign. (Polly Protester submitted a post-publication protest, but it was refused. More on that later.)
This is one battle Polly was glad to lose because the trademark owner is a veteran. Nevertheless, it’s rather incredible that USPTO deemed COLORED LIGHTS MATTER MERRY CHRISTMAS a source indicator.
How on earth did this happen? Easy-peasy, sweet Louisey:
Loopholes (inadequate specimens, intent to use, partial phrases)
Letter of Protest limitations
We’ve talked about overcoming ornamental refusals in Part 5, and fuzzy language in the TMEP in Part 6. Let’s take a closer look at each of these issues.
Trademark Registration Loopholes
The three biggest loopholes are:
We talked about overcoming Ornamental refusals before, in Part 5. Let’s dive a little deeper.
Lay a custom hang tag on top of a blank T-shirt, tuck the end inside the collar, and take a picture of that top corner of the garment.
Use a plastic doohickey-thingamajig to actually attach your hang tag to the garment’s collar tag.
Take a picture of your fancy hang tag with some nice twine. No product is necessary.
Put your folded shirt inside a clear bag and slap a big label on top so the contents of the bag are mostly covered. Print your “mark” on the label.
Print your mark on the product packaging (Keep Calm and Drink Beer)
Spare no expense. Get the fancy scissors from the arts and crafts department at WalMart and cut the edges of the tag. Nothing says “registrable” like adding that little personal touch.
Limit your trademark application phrase to a word or two less than what’s on the shirt (KEEP CALM AND LOVE for Keep Calm and Love Bison shirts) – this tactic is incredibly successful
In Part 5 I shared a list of trademarks spawned by the “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters of World War II.
Let’s take a look at the specimens. (Source: Author’s private Registered Marks Airtable, “Keep Calm” view.)
Sixteen of these specimens were approved because, hey, after all, there’s a hang tag! In fact, one of them had ONLY a hang tag! Proper trademark use, y’all!
Applications to register terms in the typical novelty-product classes should be required to include specimen photos that show the entire product, not simply a hang tag or product packaging. And a hang tag shouldn’t be allowed to magically confer distinctiveness.
Loophole 2: Intent to Use
If it’s too much trouble to print the tag at your local Kinko’s, a mock-up will often suffice. Especially if you are filing an application based on “Intent to Use – Section 1(b).”
Here’s the specimen for COLORED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS MATTER MERRY CHRISTMAS:
Colored Christmas Lights Matter Drawing
Where’s the “shakes head” emoji on my keyboard?
Novelty expressions that are not yet used in commerce are among the most common type of bogus trademarks. That’s because USPTO’s over-reliance on “use in commerce” to determine registrability is often exploited.
Let’s state the obvious: novelty products are decorated with expressions that are NEW.
Did you notice a hilarious meme?
Quick! File an application!
Loophole: Intent to Use
Registration before use in commerce is practically guaranteed because a Letter of Protest will probably fail.
In the case of COLORED LIGHTS MATTER MERRY CHRISTMAS, Polly Protester stumbled across the application after it had been published for opposition.
Evidence to support a refusal at the post-publication stage in the examination process requires (at a minimum!):
each product displaying an EXACT MATCH of the phrase
Even the owner of the mark hadn’t produced a single product displaying the exact phrase.
Nevermind that “Black Lives Matter” spawned many similar parodies:
Single Lives Matter (Singles Awareness Day)
Drunk Lives Matter (St. Patrick’s Day)
Chicken Lives Matter (Easter)
Beard Lives Matter (Father’s Day)
American Lives Matter (July 4th)
No Lives Matter (Halloween)
Turkey Lives Matter (Thanksgiving)
Santa Lives Matter (Christmas)
Elf Lives Matter (Christmas)
Bee Lives Matter (Beekeepers)
Colorblind Lives Matter
Old Lives Matter (Grandparents)
Squirrel Lives Matter (Squirrel Lovers)
Tow Lives Matter (Tow Truck Operators)
Black Angus Lives Matter
Black Kings Matter (African Pride)
Black Rifles Matter (2nd Amendment)
Square Lights Matter
(Side note to Merch By Amazon participants: Parody is a pretty dumb thing to do on Amazon. Putting any of the above slogans on your products could place your account at risk. Don’t be foolish.)
I’ll point out some language in TMEP that should have made refusing the COLORED LIGHTS MATTER MERRY CHRISTMAS a no-brainer. But it’s rather obscure, so unless the examiner was sleeping with TMEP under his/her pillow, it’s no wonder they missed the two statements that prove ineligibility of this “mark.”
Loophole 3: Incomplete Phrases
Here’s another type of questionable mark. The only difference being, these open-ended statements are registered trademarks that someone is using to “protect” an idea and avoid competition:
86630783 ALWAYS BE YOURSELF UNLESS YOU CAN BE A (unicorn, mermaid, etc.)
86557122 ASK ME ABOUT MY (grandkids, awesome daughter, baby pug, etc.)
87269271 CHEAPER THAN THERAPY (wine is, running is, tacos are, etc.)
86557154 CRAWL, WALK,… (Fish/golf/hockey/surf; baby shirts)
86557157 GRANDPA SINCE (2010, 2011, etc.)
87070847 GREETINGS FROM (Alaska, etc.; souvenir shirts)
86419264 I LOVE IT WHEN MY WIFE (lets me fish, golf, etc.)
86180548 I LOVE IT WHEN MY WIFE (lets me fish, golf, etc.)
87554264 I’M DIGGING (being 4, 5, 6, 7)
87396302 LEGENDS ARE BORN (in October, in 1957, etc.)
86557171 MY HEART BELONGS TO (my husband, my horse, Texas, etc.)
86557180 REAL WOMEN (love cats, eat chocolate, lift weights, etc.)
86557184 THIS DUDE (loves pizza, just turned 18, drives fast cars, etc.)
85674407 THIS GUY (loves pizza, just turned 18, drives fast cars, etc.)
86341905 THIS MAN (loves pizza, just turned 18, drives fast cars, etc.)
86557191 THIS IS WHAT THE WORLD’S GREATEST… …LOOKS LIKE (mom, dad, grandma, etc.)
86231076 WHEN I’M BIG (I’m going to be a doctor, lawyer, etc.)
86339336 WORLD’S OKAYEST (mom, dad, etc.)
86330807 YOU CAN’T SCARE ME (I’m a scientist/dad/mom/teacher, etc.; this is from Raiders of the Lost Ark)
An IP infringement claim against anyone using these phrases in a T-shirt design wouldn’t hold up in court. It doesn’t have to. The registration is sufficient to eliminate most competition.
The worst part is, TMEP and case law are of little help.
These expressions “qualify”… mostly. Even if industry insiders recognize them as key elements of popular novelty expressions. Check out Tammy TMEP’s Merely Informational Bullets in Part 6.
Here are some more examples of registered marks that used the Hangtag (“proper trademark use”) Strategy. Notice how many of them combine the Hangtag Strategy with the Partial Phrase strategy.
Not sayin’ they’re not real brands. Just sayin, if the average consumer read this message displayed large on a shirt (especially if the statement was completed logically), would they think it was a brand? You be the judge.
In case the Airtable doesn’t display, here’s a list of the marks (27 of the 40 applications were prepared by attorneys):
Trademark Serial No. Reg. No.
ASK ME ABOUT MY… 86557122 4831612
BE NICE TO ME MY WIFE IS PREGNANT 86331641 4746598
BORN TO FISH FORCED TO WORK 86336299 4746613
BRIDESMATES 86466418
CRAWL, WALK,… 86557154 4801456
GRANDPA SINCE… 86557157 4888163
I CAN’T ADULT TODAY 86829703 5233352
I CAN’T KEEP CALM I’M GETTING MARRIED 86048573 4704673
I CAN’T KEEP CALM I’M GOING TO BE 87314687 5262807
I CAN’T KEEP CALM I’M HAVING A BABY 86193612 4531155
I CAN’T KEEP CALM I’M THREE 86893705 5040448
I CAN’T KEEP CALM I’M TWO 86553820 4831335
I CAN’T KEEP CALM IT’S MY BIRTHDAY 86381353 4746828
I CAN’T KEEP CALM SANTA’S COMING 86366622 4708287
I LOVE IT WHEN MY WIFE 86419264 4747528
I LOVE IT WHEN MY WIFE 86180548 4747528
I’D RATHER BE SLEEPING 87143941 5259280
I’D RATHER BE WITH MY DOG 86096269 4680605
JESUS COFFEE YOGA 87392080 5483772
KEEP CALM AND ACK NICE 85346472 4207307
KEEP CALM AND CHIVE ON 86074953 4559100
KEEP CALM AND DRINK BEER 86068193 4615044
KEEP CALM AND GO GREEN 86147887 4616480
KEEP CALM AND HEAD UP NORTH 85733161 4334580
KEEP CALM AND LET MIMI HANDLE IT 86626134 4870662
KEEP CALM AND LET NANA HANDLE I 86616473 4934349
KEEP CALM AND LET PAPA HANDLE IT 86608447 4870224
KEEP CALM AND LOVE 86580794 4921654
KEEP CALM AND WORK OUT 86548075 4827027
KEEP CALM I’M ALMOST 87582645 Refused
LIFE IS BETTER IN THE STATE OF HI 87368670 5520501
LIFEGUARD 77567126 3796591
LIVE FREE VOTE RIGHT 87592036 5531740
MY HEART BELONGS TO… 86557171 4831619
NAUGHTY NICE I TRIED 87260349 5274895
REAL WOMEN 86557180 4844657
THE DOGFATHER 86557182 5337799
THIS DUDE 86557184 4831620
THIS IS WHAT THE WORLD’S GREATEST… …LOOKS LIKE 86557191 4888164
WIFEY 86505049 5034202
List of Partial Phrases Questionable Trademark Registrations (Class 025 – Clothing)
Hey, if someone reading this happens to own one or more of the marks displayed above, relax. Nobody’s trying to pick on you, and USPTO won’t be coming after these trademarks. Even if they agree with me that these were registered in error.
What’s done is done, and the only fair method of canceling past mistakes is via random audits or some competitor paying an attorney to fight it.
I’m not your enemy, and none of these marks affect me. And really, I’d rather be doing pretty much anything besides this post. But frivolous trademarks harm all of us.
If a pre-publication protest fails or is not even filed, a post-publication protest has no chance of succeeding against “trademarks” like these. Many of these phrases don’t even make sense until you see their completion on a T-shirt.
And there are zero competing products bearing the exact expression. Let’s say it again: the registration is sufficient to eliminate most competition.
Keep in mind, an Intent to Use application doesn’t require a specimen until after it is published for opposition. And if the specimen fits the Hangtag Strategy, it’s game over.
According to Tammy TMEP, first in line gets to register a novelty expression. At least, if they can do so before the market is saturated. It’s been that way since LIFE GUARD was registered in 1938.
Challenge: Fuzzy Language, Take 2
Tammy might throw around “merely informational” language a bit. But as we already noticed in Part 6, her bullets indicate it’s not “informational” if it doesn’t say anything about the materials used to create the product. And it’s not “widely used” if you get the trademark before scores of alternative designs for the same phrase are created by your competitors.
Never mind consumer perception and common sense.
Some attorneys get it. (Kudos to USPTO attorney who had the wherewithal to refuse an application in spite of the “not yet widely used in commerce” loophole.)
But many decisions appear to be made with disregard for consumer perception. And inadequacies in the Letter of Protest form make it hard for industry insiders to share what they know.
The following key point is largely ignored when USPTO examines applications in the typical print-on-demand classes:
…the informational significance of I ♥ DC was “reinforced by the fact that similar expressions in the form of ‘I ♥__’ have also been widely used to express such enthusiasms with respect to other places and things.
Yes, Tammy TMEP says a T-shirt slogan has “informational significance.” And she says right there, “similar expressions” that “express enthusiasm” are not registrable.
Yet it happens. All. The. Time.
Argument Definition: the Letter of Protest Loophole
So, for example, a salient quote from TMEP might help the Attorney Advisor quickly see the validity of the protest evidence. But when the evidence is forwarded to the examining attorney, often only the “parent” legal basis is given for consideration.
I’ve seen it time and time again. A protest legal basis of “TMEP 1202.04(b) Widely Used Messages” becomes “TMEP 1202.04 Informational Matter.” Tammy TMEP’s quote about I ♥ DC, if included in the Legal Basis section of the protest form, will not be included in the cover memo when the evidence is sent to the examiner.
Even if it is, the greatest emphasis seems to be on this phrase from TMEP 1202.04(b) Widely Used Messages:
I ♥ DC failed to function as a mark for clothing items [because] the wording “has been widely used, over a long period of time and by a large number of merchandisers”
Two of the case law examples included in Part 6 are hidden deep within TMEP:
The language about intended users is quite instructive. Let’s take a look:
Why? Because “TMEP 1209.03(i)” listed as the legal basis on a Letter of Protest will most likely become “TMEP 1209.03 Descriptive” for the examiner. “TMEP 1209.01(c)(iii) Generic Case Matter References” will become “TMEP 1209.01 Generic.”
What are the chances of finding the 17 out of 2014 words that reference apparel? The only other case that includes products related to print-on-demand is RUSSIANART (generic for dealership services in the field of fine art, antiques, furniture, and jewelry).
Although it includes an apparel example, the MOUNTAIN CAMPER language is unlikely to help a Letter of Protest. The same thing goes for the OUTDOOR PRODUCTS generic case law example.
Why? Including specific case law amounts to presenting a legal argument! This is inappropriate for ex parte examination! Can’t you guys read?
And the examining attorney’s approval will not be overturned without a clear error, y’all. If the hangtag is there and the market isn’t flooded with the same exact expression, the approval will stand.
This is Part 8 of a 10-Part Series. If you missed previous installments select from the list below to read the rest of the series. (Part 4 is next).