In just the first month of the year, a plethora of filings at the USPTO are for nontraditional trademarks have been submitted. These filings include product configurations, trade dress, colors, patterns, and more. I expect this trend to continue to grow as brand owners continue to seek new ways to stand apart from the crowd of advertising.
For example, the following were recently filed [click marks for USPTO records]:
- Old Spice whistle sound from Proctor & Gamble
– WOMEN’S AND GIRL’S PANTS, JEANS, PANTS MADE OF DENIM AND JEANS MADE OF DENIM
– Golf grips, namely, hand grips for golf clubs
– jewelry
– salad kits consisting primarily of processed lettuces and also containing salad dressing, and one more of vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs, cheese, meat, poultry, croutons, tortilla chips, flat bread chips
– SPORTING GOODS, NAMELY BASEBALL BATS AND RELATED PROMOTIONAL ITEMS, NAMELY MINIATURE BASEBALL BATS
– electronic keys for use with electronic locks
– Candies
– Food preparation; Restaurant services (Inn-N-Out Burgers)
– Orthodontic brackets
– golf balls
– Handheld mobile digital electronic device, namely, a full featured tablet computer, electronic book reader, digital audio and video player, electronic personal organizer, personal digital assistant, electronic calendar, and global positioning system device
– Canned Maine wild blueberries
– writing instruments, namely, markers
– cheese
