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What does a product label have to meet to be accepted as a trademark specimen?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

Product labels that serve as trademark specimens should meet the following formal requirements:

The mark must be prominently displayed on them so that consumers can associate it with the product.
The mark on the label must match the originally filed mark exactly. It can’t be a variation of the same logo, even if you think it creates the same commercial impression.
The label must be a real, unaltered specimen from actual commercial use; not a mockup or digitally altered image.
The label must make clear what product is being sold under the mark.

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