You might wonder what is required in the drawing for my trademark?
Every trademark application must include one clear depiction of the mark, which is referred to as “the drawing.” If you have variations on the mark you are registering, each variation requires its own separate application and fee.
There are two types of drawings. These are “standard character” and “special form.”
If your drawing consists solely of letters, words or numbers then it is a standard character drawing. This type of drawing protects the wording itself and does not limit the mark to a specific style, font, size or color. Therefore, this type of drawing gives you better protection than a special form drawing. A standard character drawing must have the following: (1) no design element; (2) no stylization of lettering and/or numbers; (3) not any letters and words in Latin characters; (4) not any numbers in Roman or Arabic numerals; and (4) only common punctuation or common pronunciations of a letter above or below which it is written, these are diacritical marks. The United States Patent office has created a standard character set that lists letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and diacritical marks that may be used in a standard character drawing. You may view these on the USPTO’s website at http://www.uspto.gov/teas/standardCharacterSet.html.
If your drawing includes a design or logo, alone or with wording, or if the particular style of lettering or particular color(s) is important then it is considered a special form drawing. If you are seeking registration of a word(s) combined with a design or logo, the drawing must depict both the word(s) and the design or logo combined as one image.
You might also want to know how do I file these drawings.
For filing a standard character drawing electronically, the Trademark Electronic Application System or TEAS generates a standard character drawing for you, based on the information you enter on the form under “enter the mark here.” When filing on paper, you must use standard letter-size paper and include the following at the top of the “drawing page” as part of your application: applicant’s name; correspondence address; and the following statement: “The mark is presented in standard character format without claim to any particular font style, size or color.” The representation or drawing of the mark must appear in the middle of the page.
For filing a special form drawing file electronically, you must upload an image of your mark into the TEAS form. The mark image must be in .jpg format and should have a minimal amount of white space surrounding the design of the mark. Mark images should not include the trademark, service mark or registration symbols (for example, TM, SM, ®). Unless a color image is being submitted for a mark wherein color is claimed as a feature of the mark, the mark image should be black and white. When you file on paper, you must use standard letter-size paper and include the applicant’s name and correspondence address at the top of the drawing page as part of your application. The mark must appear in the middle of the page, and consist of the entire mark, i.e., word(s) and design.
You may also wonder if it is better to submit a black and white drawing or a color drawing?
A black and white drawing will cover use of your mark in any color so you may submit a black and white drawing. However, if it is important that your customers associate specific colors in your mark with your product, you may wish to limit your mark. You could claim those colors as part of your mark, then you must also submit a color drawing of your mark that matches the colors you are claiming. If you do submit a color drawing, you must also submit the following: (1) a “color claim” naming the color(s) and stating that the color(s) is a feature of the mark, and (2) a separate statement describing the mark and specifically describing where the color(s) appears in the mark.
