Specimen guide for E-commerce

What is a trademark specimen?

When you apply for/renew a US trademark, you must prove to the USPTO that your trademark is "used in commerce", i.e., that your goods/services are available for purchase or ordering to US customers. In practice, you will prove the use in commerce by submitting a so-called specimen, which is usually a photograph or a screenshot of your trademark used together with the goods or services you applied for (e.g., depicted on the product packaging, on your storefront, etc.).

What is considered a sufficient specimen will depend on multiple factors, including whether you offer goods (Classes 1-34) or services (Classes 35-45).

In this guide, we will look specifically at trademark specimens for e-commerce - the best format, requirements, and examples from the USPTO.

What is a proper specimen for e-commerce?

When trademarking an e-commerce business, your offering will likely fall under Class 35, which is a service class including terms covering retail and wholesale.

Therefore, the most suitable specimen will be a website screenshot meeting the following requirements:

• The mark must be clearly visible, meaning it must be legible, not cropped off, etc.
• The mark shown on the specimen has to match the mark in the original trademark application exactly. For example, if you applied for a mark consisting of a graphical element and the brand name, the specimen can't display just the graphical element.
• The specimen has to be an actual screenshot of a page the examiner can access, not a mockup or an altered screenshot.
• The screenshot has to show that the goods can be purchased by US customers (in practice, it's enough to show the price in USD).
• The screenshot has to show the means of ordering (e.g., button "Add to cart").
• You must provide the URL and the date of taking, either on the specimen itself or by filling it out in the form.
• From the specimen, it must be clear the mark labels an e-commerce business and not the products.