aim2future - Slashdot User

Comment Re:I don't get it... (Score 1) 141

by aim2future on Tuesday May 20, 2008 @11:50PM (#23487504) Attached to: IBM Patents Putting Handprints On Laptops

Submission + - Hard to apply for indefinite trademarks in US

Submitted by aim2future on Wednesday March 26, 2008 @02:32PM

aim2future writes: Although we are familiar with amazingly broad patents in US, the issue on broad trademarks seems to be the opposite. We have trademarks in Sweden and Europe and are now applying in other countries. To apply for a trademark in Europe is rather straightforward, you specify the classes and provide a description, and optionally some rules if it is a collective trademark. About the class descriptions we often use the example descriptions provided by the patent office. However, USPTO said that our descriptions were too indefinite and claimed that this was typical for trademark applications from Europe, where the example text is often just copied (which was true). Due to our services being broad, as they are consumer driven, and due to a continuous technology progress we can not anticipate what technology or methods to use. We can not say beforehand what type of method for transportation to use, what types of manufacturing processes for treatment of materials, what type of research or technological services to deal with.

We need advice. Either trademarks in US are intended for very specific products, or trademark rules in US are not adapted to consumer driven innovation, development, manufacturing or other beforehand indefinite services. Can slashdotters with experience of trademarks in US possibly help us? How can we possibly express this for USPTO without giving ridiculous examples, which will anyway be insufficient?
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In our case we used the examples for classes 39, 40 and added some specifications to class 42, which became [39) Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement. 40) Treatment of materials. 42) Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software; legal services]. These, our European descriptions, fit our planned activities well.

As USPTO had indicated that our services needed to be more specific we made an attempt as is described below, however this tends to become somewhat ridiculous, and USPTO still did not accept this, they have suggested some amendments but these made us suspect that they haven't fully understood what we are aiming for.For class 39 they said that e.g. "transport by Internet, space" is unacceptably indefinite. Applicant must further describe the services intended because goods cannot be transported via Internet or space. Applicant must list the type of carrier services that are classified in international class 39. The attorney is unable to offer acceptable wording because their exact nature is unclear. For class 40 they said our description was beyond the scope of our international registration as we had added "waste treatment" there from some example we found.

39) Transport by air, rail, truck, boat, Internet, space; freight forwarding; postal services; express delivery of goods; packaging and storage of goods, namely, software, electronics, optics, electrical devices, mechanical devices, vehicles, chemicals, drugs, clothes, molecular devices, nano materials and composition of the named goods; archiving and storage of electronic data; travel arrangements.

40) Waste treatment by processing and refinement of goods and materials, namely, metals, plastics, liquids, wood, paper, electronics, optical devices, electrical devices, mechanical devices, vehicles, chemicals, drugs, clothes, houses, molecular devices, nano devices, nano materials, construction materials as well as information.

42) Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto, namely, research and development for new products for others, engineering services performed for others, namely, developing manufacturing specifications for products in the nature of electronics, optical devices, electrical devices, mechanical devices, foods, chemicals, drugs, clothes, prefabricated houses, molecular devices, nano devices, nano materials, construction materials, and compositions of the named products.