[E-trademarks] Hot Take on Improvements Needed for Design Descriptions/Codes/Searching

[Edward Timberlake]

If you haven't tried it, the WIPO Global Brand Database provides several
options for searching by image ("Search By Brand Logo") and includes USPTO
records (no design search codes required).

https://www.wipo.int/reference/en/branddb/

Sincerely,

Ed Timberlake
*Board Certified Specialist in Trademark Law
<https://www.nclawspecialists.gov/for-the-public/find-a-board-certified-specialist/results/detail/?id=29473>*

*Timberlake Law* <http://timberlakelaw.com/>
Chapel Hill, NC

Schedule a call on Clarity <https://clarity.fm/edtimberlake>
ed at timberlakelaw.com
919.960.1950








On Tue, Dec 19, 2023 at 3:44 PM Jaclyn Ionin via E-trademarks <
e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com> wrote:

> I know we have much bigger fish to fry with NEW TESS, but am I the only
> one who is  frustrated with how archaic, incomplete, and poorly managed the
> design mark categorization and searching is? The standards for descriptions
> are so loose and have no consistency, and the  design codes do not come
> close to covering all the visual elements that could be used. This results
> in having to search for broad terms that COULD encompass your mark, but
> also end up producing tons of results that definitely do not apply... OR
> you simply miss marks that are actually quite similar just because the
> elements they share are not elements that can be searched for within the
> confines of the existing system, or COULD be searched for, but aren't
> REQUIRED to be included in the description, or are included in the
> description, but without any standardized uniform language across the
> board. Design searching should not be this inefficient.
>
> The USPTO should employ actual designers to evaluate each mark
> and properly craft consistent descriptions, or at minimum have actual
> designers develop standardized formula models for descriptions. For example:
>
>    - styles of fonts (script, serif, sans serif, bubble, block, and
>    preferably even more specific like gothic serif, wedge serif, slab serif,
>    etc.) should be a required inclusion for any stylized mark or design mark
>    with literal elements;
>    - if a mark is an ambigram, or has other symmetrical elements, that
>    should be a required inclusion;
>    - consistent ways to describe directions of letters or lines (diagonal
>    from top left to bottom right, etc.)
>    - consistent ways to describe spacing and sizing comparisons between
>    elements (using technical terms like kerning or any other consistent term
>    that would then be searchable)
>    - consistent and required categorizations of different graphic styles
>    that would actually help to find marks that have a similar feel to your
>    clients' mark(s), despite maybe not both having a banana or a cow or the
>    same word in them (illustration, cartoon, watercolor, dimensional,
>    geometric, typographic, art deco, pop art, bauhaus, graffiti)
>
> Also wouldn't hurt for the USPTO to simply add an image search like Google
> Images to TESS. If they really wanted to make our lives easier.
>
> I come from a (limited) design background, so maybe I'm an outlier in
> feeling this way, but I know this does not need to be this difficult and
> inefficient.
>
> Just curious whether anyone shares the sentiment or has any insight as to
> whether this type of improvement has been suggested or explored in the
> past.
>
> <https://www.ioninlaw.com/>
>
> JACLYN IONIN, ESQ.
> Owner, Principal Attorney, Ionin Law
> <https://www.facebook.com/ioninlaw> <https://www.instagram.com/ioninlaw/>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/ioninlaw/>
> <https://calendly.com/ioninlaw>
>   Trademark & Business Law
>   646.470.1167
>   www.ioninlaw.com
>   31 Hudson Yards, FL 11 New York, NY 10001
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=31%20Hudson%20Yards,%20FL%2011%20New%20York,%20NY%2010001>
> [image: App Banner Image]
>
> --
> E-trademarks mailing list
> E-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com
> http://oppedahl-lists.com/mailman/listinfo/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20231219/1a3fea4d/attachment.htm>