Yesterday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a new pilot program to help fight fraudulent trademark applications. Specifically, the new program addresses situations where the applicant provided the USPTO with a fraudulent specimen to demonstrate use of the trademark. Only a narrow subset of fraudulent applications would be vulnerable to a claim under this pilot program. One example could include the whiskey specimen shown below. Based on the name alone, I assume this is some high quality booze. However, it might surprise you to learn that this is not a real bottle of whiskey. I just created it using it in MS Paint (cue mindblown gif). Most attorneys understand that submitting this as a specimen would constitute fraud on the USPTO. However, not all individuals and companies understand the use requirements for obtaining trademark protection in the U.S. Some may mistakenly believe that registering a trademark is merely a ministerial act, requiring only a picture of…
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