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USPTO Trademarks - Statement of Use

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  • USPTO Trademarks - Statement of Use

    After filing for my USPTO trademark and receiving my Notice for Publication, I now need to provide a Statement of Use which shows my mark in use. I am not bottling/canning or doing any distribution at this point. I will only be serving beer from kegs through my taproom. Any idea what could be consider a "specimen" showing my mark in commerce? Having my brewery name embossed on my kegs? Any experience/insights? Thank you!

  • #2
    Your label approved by COLA will do.


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    • #3
      According to my brewer's notice, it states I only need a COLA if I'm selling beer in interstate commerce or by state law. Considering I'm not canning/bottling/distributing and my state (WI) doesn't require labeling, my understanding is that I won't need a COLA. Unless I'm missing something?

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      • #4
        You are correct but I think you need to have approved label in the way to get WI license.

        USPTO wants you be be in interstate business as well.


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        • #5
          We had pictures of it in use on keg collars, etc. If it is your logo, that is good enough, or at least that is what our trademark attorney said. For individual beer brands, you also need to have proof that it has been sold or will be for sale. There is a grace period for this, so you can file the mark and then you have 6 months to show it in commerce, if not then you have to file an extension(there are 5 extension I believe).

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          • #6
            Statements of use

            As a quick warning, do not file a statement of use until you are certain your use qualifies as use in commerce. Otherwise, your trademark registration might be vulnerable to cancellation down the road.

            Another quick note, as another poster commented above, the type of use required to substantiate a federal trademark registration is called "in commerce," which is a fairly complicated legal issue. I don't agree that a COLA is necessarily required, and recent case law shows that use even in a single state can qualify, if there are sales to out-of-state residents. Again, this is a bit complicated.

            Regarding what you can use to show use, a label may work, although it is much preferred to have the label affixed to a bottle/can/keg. You may get a specimen refusal if you just submit a label. There are other options that likely work as well, including point-of-sale displays intended to induce sales. This also gets relatively complicated, and specimen issues can be a real pain to deal with.


            Dan Christopherson, Beer Lawyer
            Christopherson Brew Law
            6638 W. Ottawa Ave, Suite 220-3, Littleton, CO 80128
            720-515-8773 (phone) | dan@brew.law | www.brew.law
            Last edited by Brew Law; 12-02-2018, 10:50 AM.
            Dan Christopherson
            Christopherson Brew Law
            Littleton, CO 80128
            (720) 515-8773
            dan@brew.law
            brew.law

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