Enrichment · Passion Projects

Your brand is in use.
Keep the proof.

Trademark rights in the United States come from using a mark, and a federal application based on use needs a specimen showing it on the goods or with the services. Record each piece of evidence as it happens: what it is, when and where. The organizer sorts out which kinds usually work as a specimen and flags the ones that do not.

Add evidenceWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Passion projects kit, $39 for 34 items.

Your evidence

The worked example is made up: a candle maker’s label photo, a social post with the wrong symbol and a wholesale invoice, and a tutoring business’s booking page. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Passion Projects$5

What you finish with
A record per piece of evidence: the mark, goods or services, what they are, the symbol used, registration status, the kind of evidence, the date, where, whether customers are across state lines or online, where the file is saved and five checks. Marks whether that kind usually works as a specimen and counts usable specimens per mark; flags ads for goods, invoices, mockups, a misused ® and missing date proof.
Who it is for
Students and adults with a small business, shop, channel or creative brand, and the teachers running entrepreneurship projects.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per piece of evidence. Prints one record, every record in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Passion projects kit ($39) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the mark and whether it is used on goods or for services.
  2. Photograph or capture each real use, and note the date and place.
  3. Choose the kind of evidence.
  4. Fix what the flags mark.
  5. Keep at least one usable specimen per product or service you plan to file for.

Add evidence

Specimens

What usually works as a specimenEvidenceFor goodsFor servicesLabel, tag or packagingUsually yesNo, unless it shows the serviceWeb page with a way to buy or bookYes, if ordering is shownYesSign, vehicle or storefrontRarelyYes, where the service is offeredAd, flyer or social postUsually noOften yesInvoice or receiptUsually noUsually noMockup or design fileNoNoWhat usually works as a specimenLabel, tag or packagingFor goods: Usually yesFor services: No, unless it shows the serviceWeb page with a way to buy or bookFor goods: Yes, if ordering is shownFor services: YesSign, vehicle or storefrontFor goods: RarelyFor services: Yes, where the service is offeredAd, flyer or social postFor goods: Usually noFor services: Often yesInvoice or receiptFor goods: Usually noFor services: Usually noMockup or design fileFor goods: NoFor services: No
Summarized from the USPTO’s examination manual; an examining attorney decides each case.

™, SM and ®

Anyone can use ™ (goods) or SM (services) to claim a mark. The ® symbol is reserved for marks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; using it on an unregistered mark can hurt a later application.

Two dates

A use-based federal application asks for the date the mark was first used anywhere and the date it was first used in commerce that Congress can regulate, such as sales across state lines or online. Keep proof of both.

Sources

  1. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure, section 904 (specimens) (uspto.gov).
  2. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark basics and Using the trademark symbols (uspto.gov).
  3. Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 (application for registration) and 15 U.S.C. 1111 (notice of registration).
  4. U.S. Small Business Administration. Protect your brand (sba.gov).

The worked examples are made up. This organizer helps you keep records; it is not legal advice, and an examining attorney decides whether a specimen is accepted. For a filing, consider a trademark attorney or the USPTO’s free resources. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.