Acceptable Trademark Specimens for Apparel

The Trademark Office requires a specimen of your trademark to register your trademark. A specimen is a sample of your trademark as used in commerce. It is real-life evidence of how you are actually using your trademark in the marketplace.

Do not use the ® (“circle R” symbol ) until the Trademark Office has issued your registration. If we submit a specimen with the ®, the Trademark Office could delay your application.

There are five primary types of acceptable specimens for apparel

• • Labels or tags on the apparel
  • Packaging
  • Sales displays at the point of sale
  • A webpage selling the apparel that:
    • Contains a picture or textual description of the goods;
    • Shows the mark in association with the goods; and
    • Provides a means for directly ordering the goods, e.g., an order form.

See examples below

Ornamental uses do not function as trademarks and are not acceptable for a specimen.

A specimen that shows the trademark being used in a purely ornamental or decorative manner is not acceptable. A slogan or a design across the front of a t-shirt or hat is considered ornamental not an acceptable specimen.

Ornamental Use on a Shirt–Not Acceptable Specimen

Ornamental Use on a Hat–Not an Acceptable Specimen

An acceptable specimen must:

• Be a real example of how you use your trademark in commerce in providing your goods or services (not a mock-up, printer’s proof, digitally altered image, rendering of intended packaging, or draft of a website that shows how your trademark might appear).
• Show your trademark used with the goods or services listed in your application.
• Depict the exact same trademark as shown on your drawing.
• Be your use of your trademark, not use by someone else, unless they are a licensee.
• Show your trademark used in a way that directly associates the trademark with the goods or services.
• Display your trademark so that consumers would perceive it as a source indicator for the goods or services in your application (it functions as a trademark).

Examples of acceptable specimens for apparel

The trademark is on the goods themselves. For example, you could submit a photo showing your trademark on a label sewn on the neckband of a t-shirt, on the yoke, on one breast, or on a sleeve cap.

Small trademark on the chest.

Trademark on the sleeve cap

Small trademark on the back below the collar.

Trademark on the side of the cap.

The trademark is on the label or tags for the goods. For example, you could submit a photo of the goods showing your trademark on a label.

The trademark is on the packaging. For example, you could submit a photo of your goods showing your trademark on the packaging.

The trademark is on a sales display where the goods are sold. For example, you could submit a photo of a display stand or sign showing your trademark. The display must show use of the trademark directly associated with the goods and the use must be of a point-of-sale nature. Folders, brochures, or other materials that describe goods or their characteristics or serve as advertising are not acceptable displays.

The trademark is on a webpage selling the goods. For example, you could submit a screenshot from a webpage prominently displaying your trademark. The webpage must be of a point-of-sale and show the trademark directly associated with the goods. If there is no means for ordering the goods, the webpage is an advertisement, not a point of sale. Links to “More Information,” “Contact us,” or “Where to Buy” are not acceptable to show a point-of-sale.

The Trademark Office provides additional USPTO Example Specimens.

If you have additional questions about specimens or trademark registrations, please call us at (303) 665-9845.