The recent college admissions scandal has been abundant in the media in recent weeks. The story continued to grow yesterday when the US Patent and Trademark Office officially rejected Olivia Jade Beauty’s trademark application due to punctuation or more specifically, the lack thereof. The trademark officer, after reviewing the application, felt that the details for Olivia Jade Beauty were too ambiguous and specifically cited that, “Proper punctuation in identifications is necessary to delineate explicitly each product or service with in [sic] a list and to avoid ambiguity.” The Office also noted that the lack of punctuation made it unclear as to what exactly it was she was selling. Further, her individual products were not adequately described as the response from the Trade Mark Office noted they would require more information on the “nature” of the products. It is in the situation that a trademark attorney would be especially helpful.
I am struggling not to pile on Olivia Jade as I write this. Specifically, because I find anyone who mocks the importance of education while simultaneously cheating their way into college ripe for mocking. However, such is not the point of this blog.
The point is this. It is hard to get a trademark and it takes a professional with experience to do it right. [Read: Trademark Office Action]
The Trademark Process
70% of all Trademarks are rejected the first time when submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office
The trademark process is difficult, and the requirements can be overly complicated. The application requires a degree of specificity in the application that the average person often struggles with. In fact, 70% of all Trademarks are rejected the first time when submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office. It seems in this instance, Olivia Jade Beauty needed a trademark, and as usual, it would seem her parents paid someone to help her out with the tedious process. Yes, that’s right, according to published reports, the punctuation-free trademark application was filled out by no other than an Attorney. Once again, her parent’s money was not utilized in a way that would best benefit Olivia Jade’s future endeavors.
It seems obvious that the Attorney retained by Olivia Jade Beauty had little to no experience with the Trademark Office. I come to this conclusion confident that an experienced Trademark Attorney knows that an application for trademark containing questionable grammar, poor product descriptions and lacking proper punctuation will have little to no chance of being approved.
You don’t ask a Dentist to perform bypass surgery
Perhaps this is an instance when an honest, well-earned education about the difference in types of attorneys would be helpful. (ok, I am piling on a bit) There are different types of Attorneys, much like there are different types of Doctors. Plastic Surgeons are not the Doctors to call if you have cancer. You don’t ask a Dentist to perform bypass surgery. By the same token, you don’t call upon any other type of lawyer other than one with Trademark experience to help you with a trademark application.
Olivia Jade will have 6 months to resubmit her trademark application for reconsideration. Let’s hope in this next round with the US Patent & Trademark Office she puts her Mom and Dad’s money to good use this time and hires not just a “Attorney” but a “Trademark Attorney” to get the job done correctly.
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