As I wrote in the previous post Four Important Elements of a Trademark Application, one of the elements of a trademark application is a list of products and services in association with which the applicant is seeking to register the trademark.

Often, self-represented trademark applicants see this as an opportunity to promote their business.

I am a sucker for using non-traditional ways of marketing, but a trademark application is really not the right vehicle.

Here’s why.

In the vast majority of cases, Canadian Intellectual Property Office is going to issue an office action suggesting that “a statement in more specific terms of the wares and services is required”. Most self-represented trademark applicants don’t know how to respond to these, and so they abandon their trademark applications, losing precious time and money.

Here are a few examples of how NOT to write your statement of wares and services:

We offer, fitness orientation, cardiovascular, flexibility and strengthening equipment. Plus club associates are there to help you in your fitness endevours. There is also support, motivation. and coaching. Included are change rooms and club amenities.

We offer special rates, offers, discounts, promotions on exclusive products and services related to travel, entertainment and shopping.

The requested trademark will be used to describe how our service is delivered. We provide personal care to seniors. We assist seniors with activities of daily living such as meal preparation, personal care, light housekeeping, etc. We offer choice, comfort and dignity to our clients who want to stay in their homes.

You are not trying to sell anything through your trademark application.

You are not trying to convince Canadian Intellectual Property Office that your products or services are good enough to deserve to be registered as a trademark.

To be honest, Canadian Intellectual Property Office does not care about the quality of your products or services.

All it cares about is whether the list of products and services is specific enough to clearly delineate in association with which products and services others can or cannot use a similar trademark.

Getting your trademarks registered in Canada used to be a complex process full of misunderstanding and frustration. That is until the Trademark Factory™ was launched. Find out why the Trademark Factory is an optimal solution to register your trademarks in Canada.