Trademark Examination Guides, Notes and Announcements - Examination Guide 2-90

Examination Guide 2-90 (August 3, 1990)

Examination Guide No. 2-90: Drawings Including Diacritical Marks

 

MEMORANDUM

DATE: August 3, 1990

TO: All Trademark Personnel

VIA: David E. Bucher, Director Trademark Examining Operation

FROM: James T. Walsh Administrator for Trademark Policy and Procedure

SUBJECT: Examination Guide No. 2-90: Drawings Including Diacritical Marks

 

The purpose of this examination guide is to revise Office policy concerning the

acceptability of typed drawings including diacritical marks.

 

A. Typed Drawings Including Diacritical Marks Permitted

 

The Office will now permit an applicant to present a mark in typed form, if it is

otherwise proper, even though the mark includes diacritical marks. If the applicant

wishes to register a mark including diacritical marks in typed form, the applicant

must provide an acceptable drawing displaying the typed version of the mark in

accordance with Trademark Rule 2.51(e), and the Office will process the drawing as

it would a special-form drawing to present the entire mark accurately.

 

B. Discussion of Previous Policy

 

Section 807.09 of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (Rev. 7) now

provides as follows:

It is also practice that a typed drawing may not be used if the mark contains

diacritical marks (such as the German umlaut, the Spanish tilde, the French

accent)....

Under this policy, applicants for marks which included diacritical marks were

compelled to display the relevant marks entirely in special form, even when Office

policy would otherwise permit a typed drawing. Specifically, in an application based

on use in commerce, when the specimens would otherwise justify presentation of the

mark in typed form, the applicant was compelled to display the mark in special form

conforming to the manner of display in the specimens in all respects. The Office

adopted this policy because the photocomposition process used to reproduce typed

marks in the Official Gazette and on registrations does not generate diacritical

marks. [p.2]

 

C. Requirements Regarding the Form and Quality of the Drawing

 

The applicant must provide a drawing entirely in capital letters including the

relevant diacritical marks. In general, the drawing must alsoconform with certain

requirements which apply to special- form drawings because, although such a drawing

will be regarded as a typed drawing under Office rules, the Office must process the

drawing in the same manner as a special-form drawing for purposes of printing in the

Official Gazette and on the registration.

The applicant must present a typed version of the mark which complies with the

relevant requirements of Trademark Rule 2.52(a) with respect to the quality of

special-form drawings. In particular, "... Every line and letter... must be black.

All lines must be clean, sharp, and solid, and must not be fine or crowded...." The

drawing must also comply with the size requirements of Trademark Rule 2.52(c). That

is, the mark must be displayed in an area no larger than 4 inches by 4 inches.

The drawing may be done on a typewriter, word processor or by any other means

which will display the mark in a manner which will reproduce satisfactorily in

special form. The mark must be in pica or elite type or larger type, and it must be

produced through a carbon ribbon or a process that provides clarity and contrast at

least equal to carbon-ribbon quality.

 

D. Explanatory Statement May be Printed

 

The applicant may insert the following statement to indicate the nature of the

mark:

The mark is presented without any claim as to special form.

This statement will be printed in the "description-of-the-mark" field on the

registration. The examining attorney should mark the statement for printing.

 

E. Policies Governing Drawings Otherwise Unchanged

 

This guide does not modify Office policy with respect to any drawings other than

those presenting diacritical marks. To the extent of any disagreement, this guide

supersedes all previous statements of Office policy concerning this subject.

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