To overcome an ornamental refusal, you may request to amend your application from the Principal Register to the Supplemental Register. The Supplemental Register is a second trademark register where trademarks can be registered that are not yet eligible for registration on the Principal Register, but may, over time, become an indicator of source. Marks registered on the Supplemental Register, like those registered on the Principal Register, are protected against conflicting marks in later-filed USPTO applications. However, Supplemental Register registrations do not receive the same legal advantages and presumptions of Principal Register registrations.
WARNING FOR SECTION 66(a) APPLICATIONS: This option does not apply to an application based on Section 66(a).
For more information on the Supplemental Register, see 15 U.S.C. §1094; 37 C.F.R. §§2.47, 2.75(a); and TMEP §§801.02(b), 816.
TEAS instructions for amending your application to the supplemental register:
To respond to a nonfinal office action, use the "Response to Office Action" (ROA) online form. To respond to a final office action, use the "Request for Reconsideration after Final Action" online form. The instructions provided in both forms are the same. If you need technical assistance with TEAS, contact TEAS@uspto.gov.
Once you have opened the appropriate TEAS form:
- Answer "Yes" to form wizard question #3.
- On the next portion of the form, under the “Additional Statements” page, check the box for the "Supplemental Register."
- Click the “Submit” button.