Brandme Trademark Class 35 Services

Trademark Class 35 is crucial to entrepreneurs, e-merchants, and foreign business owners aiming to expand their brands to American consumers and the global market. The class encompasses a vast range of services related to running a business, so it’s no wonder that it is becoming one of the favorite trademark classes for service companies and e-shopkeepers filing new trademark applications.

Services Covered Under Trademark Class 35

Trademark Class 35 services are related to advertising, business management, and administration of businesses and offices, specifically, retail and internet retail services.

Typical services in Class 35 are:

• Advertising agency services
• Digital and print marketing
• Public relations services
• Management of consumer loyalty and frequent flyer programs
• Retail store services online and in-person
• Management consulting and management
• Auctioneering and administrative processing
• Office administration and scheduling.

Why Trademark Class 35 is Important to Foreign and E-Commerce Businesses

Many foreign entrants and e-commerce merchants incorrectly assume trademark coverage is limited to goods and never services. The truth is that anybody doing e-commerce or operating online storefronts should register their trademark in Class 35, in addition to any other relevant classes. Owning a registered trademark is often the only way to get copycats removed from Internet sites. In other words, if someone is using your mark without permission on an e-commerce platform, you probably won’t be able to stop them without owning a registered trademark.

• Foreign businesses entering the U.S. market usually prefer to market through online marketplaces, and Class 35 services particularly cover this type of business offering.
• Foreign company proprietors doing business through distributors, franchisees, or agents in the U.S. are similarly entitled to increased trademark protection in this class.
• Registration in Class 35 expresses sincerity, supports legal enforcement, and prevents customer misconceptions regarding the origin of the retail or advertising services.

Acceptable Specimens of Use for Trademark Class 35

You must submit a specimen to demonstrate the actual use of your trademark in commerce. For e-commerce and retail services, acceptable specimens are:

• Screenshots of a website displaying the mark, products available for purchase, prices, and checkout procedure (including URL and date).
• Physical photos of storefronts bearing the mark.
• Publicity or advertising material such as newspaper/magazine advertisements or press cuttings directly pertaining to the applied-for services.
• Retail store demo should show the mark as it is to be used as the source identifier—not merely a design or décor.

Specimens in the form of mere mock-ups (computer-generated), doctored product photographs, or images of marks lacking a clear relation to the retail service will be rejected.

Traditional Concerns for Trademark Class 35 Filings

• Vagueness in service descriptions: Unclear or generic service listings may be denied by the USPTO as indefinite. However, this isn’t a problem if you use brandme, as you can only select services from the USPTO’s official manual of pre-approved service descriptions.
• Improper Specimen: Non-functional sites, mock-ups, or non-functioning shopping carts could result in rejections. Using brandme increases the chances that your specimen will be approved. Although we can’t guarantee its approval, our experience and guidance make it more likely.
• Misidentification of goods classes: Applicants incorrectly categorize their tangible goods for Class 35 services, leading to incorrect classifications. This misidentification won’t happen with brandme because our trademark lawyers will review your specimen and contact you before submitting it if it incorrectly identifies a good instead of a service.
• Mismatch of mark: The mark on the specimen must be identical to the application—graphic variance, abbreviation, or stylized form might result in problems. Using brandme increases the chances that your specimen will be approved. Although we can’t guarantee its approval (no one can), our review of your specimen before submitting it to the USPTO makes it more likely.
• Lack of evidence of usage: The specimen should indicate the mark is in active commercial usage in connection with the services alleged. Again, although we can’t guarantee its approval, our review of your specimen before submitting it to the USPTO makes it more likely.

Major Brands and Companies Listed in Trademark Class 35

Many household-name firms protect their principal retail, advertising, and administration services with Class 35 registration:

Registration of a trademark in Class 35 secures for its owner the exclusive right to use that mark in management, advertising, and retail services. It is by using the trademark to identify Class 35 services that forms the backbone of a recognized brand in commerce and provides the foundation upon which consumer goodwill is built. Applicants must be precise and clear when describing goods and services in their trademark applications, and must provide accurate and authentic specimens, in order to avoid rejection. Trademark class 35 registration offers brands new avenues to marketplace validity, enforcement, and brand growth in the digital and global marketplace. Brandme helps its users avoid many of the pitfalls encountered by other trademark applicants because it limits its users to service descriptions that have been pre-approved by the USPTO, inspects specimens before they are submitted, and educates its users about the nature of class 35 services.