[E-trademarks] TM Search: Is The GS3 Search Field Useful?

Fri May 24 11:49:11 EDT 2024

Two weeks later, and I did not receive any replies with useful GS3 searches.  Have we all concluded that the GS3 search field is NOT useful?

Regardless, I continued my analyses, hoping I'd generate some interesting GS3 searches.  Continuing from my first 2 search themes from two weeks ago:

3. Count of live trademarks with US Classification as the primary classification.

I noticed that for GS entries, the first 2 letters identify the primary classification system for that GS entry.  If the first two letters are US, then the US Class is the primary classification system for the GS entry.  If the first two letters are IC, the International Class is the primary classification system for that GS entry.   The two equivalent searches

24,366 results for GS3:/us.*/ AND LD:true AND FD:[* TO 19730901]
24,366 results for GS3:us* AND LD:true AND FD:[* TO 19730901]

indicate 24,366 older trademarks still use the US Classification as the primary classification system.

Conversely, the two searches

8,499 results for GS3:/us.*/ AND LD:true AND FD:[19730901 TO *]
8,499 results for GS3:us* AND LD:true AND FD:[19730901 TO *]

indicate 8,499 modern trademarks have GS entries with US Classification as the primary classification system, which may seem surprising until you notice classes A, B and 200 are strictly flagged as US Classes on TM Search.

265 results for GS3:/ic.*/ AND LD:true AND FD:[* TO 19730901]

Apparently, there are only 265 live, older trademarks filed prior to the adoption of International Classifications as the primary classification system that have updated their trademarks to use International Classes instead of US Classes as the primary classification system (but why mess with a successful registration?).

4. Identify longer GS entries by searching multiple occurrences of the ; semicolon delimiter between IDs.

1,551 results for GS3:/.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*\;.*/ AND LD:true

That search includes 249 occurrences of \; - that each of the records retrieved have at least one GS entry with 250 ID entries.  I'd add more semicolons to the search, except that would push the total number of characters in the regex search over 1000, generating the error

Error: The length of regex [1214] used in the [query_string] has exceeded the allowed maximum of [1000]. This maximum can be set by changing the [index.max_regex_length] index level setting.

TM Search does have some limits.

5. Identify inactive GS entries (a work in progress).

2 results for GS3:us\ 017\:\ \[*\]\. AND LD:true

The relevant GS entries for the above search are

  *   US 017: [ [ CIGARETTES ] ].

and

  *   US 017: [ [ TOBACCO PRODUCTS-NAMELY PIPE TOBACCO ] ].

where the GS entries begin with US followed by the class (017) followed by the colon, a blank space, a bracket [ and then terminated with a close bracket ] and period.  Presumably this search can be generalized for all classes to identify all inactive GS entries.  Then again, wouldn't it be easier if the USPTO included text flags like ~INACTIVE~ and ~ACTIVE~ in the GS entries to indicate whether the GS entry is active or inactive?

Happy Trademarking,
Ken Boone
________________________________
From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> on behalf of Ken Boone via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2024 5:24 PM
To: E-Trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Ken Boone <boondogles at hotmail.com>
Subject: [E-trademarks] TM Search: Is The GS3 Search Field Useful?

Is anyone finding the GS3 search field useful?  If so, please provide some example GS3 searches.  I'll start.

  1.
 Find really short GS entries.

2,945 results for GS3:/.{10,12}/ AND LD:true - This search finds brief GS entries of 10 to 12 characters.

473,250 results for GS3:/.{10,30}/ AND LD:true - This search finds brief GS entries of 10 to 30 characters.  Notice the significantly higher hit count versus the first search.

  1.   Find somewhat longer GS entries, though 1000 characters appears to be the maximum limit.

294,704 results for GS3:/.{1000}.*/ AND LD:true - Note the .* following the {1000} length specification.  Length specifications greater than 1000 consistently fail to retrieve any hits for me.  Maybe you'll have better luck?

Well, those curious search results are the best uses for the GS3 search field that I've noticed so far, where I'm assuming the search results are accurate.

Now suppose you want to find specific GS terms occurring in a specific International Class.  Does the GS3 search field provide that capability?

Well, maybe, but your GS3 searches may miss some valid hits (i.e., your search results may not be complete), plus your search may retrieve INACTIVE GS entries.

Consider 72432798, an older registration filed with US Classification as the primary classification system.  Following is the drawing and GS listing from the new summary screen.

Trademark
[Image for 72432798]
Goods and services

  *
US 021: DIGITAL CONTROL LOGIC MODULES INCLUDING SIGNAL LEVEL CONVERTERS, DIGITAL SIGNAL GATING CIRCUITS AND DIGITAL SIGNAL STORAGE CIRCUITS, AND ELECTRICAL SIGNAL DISPLAY APPARATUS.
  *

  *   US 026: COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM FOR CONTROLING VEHICLE MOVEMENT OVER A PROGRAMED ROUTE.

Notice what's missing?  I'll rephrase that question.  What IC (International Class(es) apply to those two GS entries?

Assuming the raw text provided in the summary screen matches the raw text references for GS3 searches, there's NO INDICATION of the INTERNATIONAL CLASS(ES) the USPTO considers appropriate for those two GS entries.  Isn't that a BIG PROBLEM, assuming you wanted to retrieve specific terms for these GS entries occurring in a specific International Class?

For the record, both of those 2 GS entries are associated with IC 009, according to TSDR.  Following is the GS text provided on TSDR (where grey highlighting indicates additional GS text that IMO should have been included in TM Search for effective GS3 searching).

For:  DIGITAL CONTROL LOGIC MODULES INCLUDING SIGNAL LEVEL CONVERTERS, DIGITAL SIGNAL GATING CIRCUITS AND DIGITAL SIGNAL STORAGE CIRCUITS, AND ELECTRICAL SIGNAL DISPLAY APPARATUS
International Class(es):      009   U.S Class(es):    021 - Primary Class
Class Status:     ACTIVE
Basis:      1(a)
First Use:  Jan. 10, 1972     Use in Commerce:  Jan. 12, 1972

For:  COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM FOR CONTROLING VEHICLE MOVEMENT OVER A PROGRAMED ROUTE
International Class(es):      009   U.S Class(es):    026 - Primary Class
Class Status:     ACTIVE
Basis:      1(a)
First Use:  Jan. 10, 1972     Use in Commerce:  Jan. 12, 1972

Note:  TESS had the labels ABANDONED, CANCELLED or EXPIRED to flag INACTIVE GS entries.  I expect INACTIVE would have been more efficient for identifying inactive GS entries.  I never did figure out an effective TESS search to count the live trademarks that still use US CLASSIFICATION as their primary classification system.

Happy Trademarking,
Ken Boone

PS - Applications filed prior to 09/01/1973 may still have US Class as primary class.

1401.02    International Trademark Classification Adopted
As of September 1, 1973, the international classification of goods and services is the controlling classification used by the United States, and it applies to all applications filed on or after September 1, 1973, and their resulting registrations, for all statutory purposes.   See 37 C.F.R. §2.85(a)<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-772bc58c-6325-4ac6-86e5-cd7fce06ac64.html>.  Unless otherwise indicated, references in this manual to class refer to the international class.
Prior to September 1, 1973, the United States used its own classification of goods and services, which is different from the international classification.  The prior United States classification continues to govern for all statutory purposes for trademark applications filed on or before August 31, 1973, and all registrations issued on the basis of an application filed on or before August 31, 1973, unless the owner of the registration amends the registration to adopt international classification.  37 C.F.R. §2.85(b)<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-772bc58c-6325-4ac6-86e5-cd7fce06ac64.html>.
If a registration issued under the United States classification system, the owner of the registration may voluntarily amend to reclassify under the international classification system, pursuant to §7(e) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1057(e)<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/sec-68a29dc2-ade9-4217-aef2-85676e8765f7.html>, if the owner pays the required fee.  37 C.F.R. §§2.6<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-cf2ffb86-73b2-4c9a-a9e5-47725b97dbdc.html>  and 2.85(e)(3)<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-772bc58c-6325-4ac6-86e5-cd7fce06ac64.html>.  See TMEP §1609.04<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/current#/current/TMEP-1600d1e2453.html>.
Classification schedules are set forth in Part 6 of the Trademark Rules of Practice.  See 37 C.F.R. §6.1<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-dfdd0f8d-2ccf-4a33-a960-e8cc1b27e626.html>  for the international classification schedule for goods and services, 37 C.F.R. §6.2<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/sec-55defa95-d02b-49de-9d1a-f53d3b85e68c.html>  for the prior United States classification schedule for goods and services, 37 C.F.R. §6.3<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/r-63983565-1904-4bc1-91e3-8ee8c943fc1d.html>  for certification marks, and 37 C.F.R. §6.4<https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TFSR/current#/current/s-6bb3ec8f-c95c-4bf8-8560-e54da2cdbbcf.html>  for collective membership marks.
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