It’s extremely simple. Here’s a redacted sample of one of our statement of uses… We follow this template each time and everything goes through the first time, every time.
Thanks. I remember reading the instructions in '19 during my first trademark and thought it was just a letter to upload or mail. I was hoping for a new “click to confirm” feature but that may be a few more years down the road.
But a simple business letter is easy enough. Thanks.
By “ended badly,” do you mean rejection? Did you redo it and get accepted?
Do you have any advice for other do-it-yourselfers? I do not need a trademark immediately, so I’d like to have a go. My name is not in TESS. I searched online and did not find others using my name in the same or similar category.
It failed for being too similar to something else that we didn’t pickup on with the searches we did with an online tool.
I ended to trademarking a unique product name within the brand and somehow talked Amazon into accepting that as the brand name for the entire assortment and finagling this to get brand registry for the entire brand under the actual brand name.
We ended up getting a free growth rep a couple years ago and I explained the situation to her and she said we could do what we did and it would be OK. Amazon initially rejected it but when I showed them that email from an Amazon employee via appeal guaranteeing it, it was accepted.
Could you do me a favor and try trademarkclear.com to see if the similarity shows up there? According to their tool, my name has low confusion risk, low descriptive risk, and high term strength.
We would use the TESS database.
We used an IP lawyer from Amazon’s IP accelerator program. In doing so, the name research was not an issue. Selecting the correct Goods and Services categories was not an issue.
Could have we completed the paper work and submitted? Probably … Would have it made it through? Who knows … But in the end, we were happy we didn’t as the process seemed fairly straight forward with the IP lawyer we selected.
Why do we point this out? … On NSFE, you will find countless threads on Amazon rejecting brand names into Amazon Brand Registry. There have been a lot of reasons but the one that sticks out to us is the rejection due to the IP lawyer used (has to be in good standing with USPTO and a US IP lawyer).
Hard to remember at this point. I think I just filled out an application and submitted it.
I searched the TESS database first, then relied on USPTO to do their thorough search.
I have not applied for brand registry yet so I hope that not having a lawyer name won’t be an issue when I do.
1 of the 2 did show up.
It was my belief that they were rejected because they applied for brand registry pending approval of the trademark. Since they did not have the trademark and they did not use the Amazon-approved lawyer, they were rejected. Is that correct? I don’t think they have rejected anyone who actually had the trademark, did they?
We’ve always been approved pending approval without using IP Accelerator. I don’t think that’s it. Something also makes me think the Attorney used isn’t looked at either. That sounds like way too much work for Amazon to do without a bot.
Along those lines, how would Amazon know who they could trust if the seller went through the filing motions themselves and plenty do.
Post by Tiff_Amazon pointing out possible IP Lawyer issues with brand registry
Working with an attorney or agent that violates United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules and policies will prevent you from enrolling in Brand Registry or subject your Brand Registry to cancellation.
You can apply and be accepted into Brand Registry with a pending mark (with serial #). If the brand fails to become a registered mark, then it would be removed from Brand Registry.
You do not have to use an Amazon-approved lawyer; however, if you use an IP lawyer, that IP lawyer has to meet the USPTO standards (which varies with foreign or domicile applicant).
In short … yes
Thank you. This is good to know. I plan on doing it myself. If I don’t make it, then it’s lesson learned. I did try to research whether my name is taken and I watched some of the USPTO videos. I think my name qualifies, but then I’m not a lawyer. If it doesn’t work, I can pay for the lawyer. I know, that’s more money in the end. I’m gambling that maybe I can get it through myself. Do you think it’s difficult?
On what grounds do they reject people who have a trademark?
Got it. I can solve that problem by not working with an attorney. 
The issue is normally one for foreign applicants.
The process is about a year long process from filing to getting the trademark registered and that is if it is going smooth.
If you run into issues, it could get dragged out and, if you start over, then the year clock starts all over.
To us, it wasn’t as much about the saving of dollars as it was about the urgency of getting the trademark registered in the shortest time possible.
If my name has a mix of capitals and lowercase, is it a problem if the trademark is all capitals (or vice versa)?
When we filed, the name was put in all capitals for USPTO. It was a word mark … no design. It was explained to us that USPTO has it as NAMEOFMARK but it was ok for us to use it as NameOfMark.
So when we put in for Amazon Brand Registry, we provided Amazon with NameOfMark which matched how we used the brand when labeling the product (and anything else when using the brand name).
When you search in TESS, the database will give results for NAMEOFMARK or nameofmark or NameOfMark as if they were the same entry.
For Amazon, the key is making sure everything matches from application to visual marking of the brand on the packages.
For USPTO, the key is which box you check as to what type of mark you are applying for.
So, if the visual marking on the package is NAmeOfmark, the USPTO trademark can’t be NAMEOFMARK (as far as brand registry is concerned)?
I’ve heard some people recommend using all caps for the USPTO trademark, but I wasn’t sure if that was kosher with Amazon if my brand on Amazon does not have all caps.