I received a notification from the USPTO that they had some questions about our design. Since I was trying to save attorney fees by doing this myself, I worked directly with the USPTO attorney to address his issues.
He had some questions about the colors we were using which we cleared up with a couple of email exchanges. He also wondered if I thought that the mermaid should be listed under a “trident”, which I later found out was a search criteria for anyone who wanted to use the mythological figure Neptune in a trademark. Who knew?
There were also a couple of technical questions about what type of commerce we should list it under, if I was sure about the font, if I wanted the positions of the “S” and “C” fixed and if I wanted the SeaClutch name over the tail to stay as part of the picture. We worked through all that and he was satisfied with the filing. The next part of the process was to publish it in the National USPTO register to see if anyone was going to challenge our use. It remained published for 30 days, and if it wasn’t challenged during that period then it was mine!
Of course, it isn’t really that simple. Once it passes the challenge phase, then I still am required to prove that I am using it in the industry it the trademark was granted in. More to follow on that. Still, a positive development!
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