The trademark office has informed us that we need to make a few adjustments to your trademark application, especially regarding classes and descriptions.
Please watch this short video and read below so we can best support you in taking next steps.
The USPTO has flagged your trademark application because they believe your trademark is either too descriptive or generic. Here’s what that means in plain English:
• Our “Kitchen Sink” Class Approach: As you may recall, we intentionally put everything under a single class in your application. We “stuffed” it with descriptions that technically belong in other classes. This allowed you to pay for just one class upfront instead of multiple.
• Odd “Legalese” Description of Goods/Services: The wording in your class description might sound weird or not like how you’d describe your business. That’s normal—and intentional. The trademark office requires very specific language, so we had to phrase things in a way they’d accept.
• Clarity on Which Classes to Claim: As expected, the trademark office now wants you to specify which classes you actually want to claim.
• Clarity on Descriptions Within Those Classes: You’ll also need to approve the descriptions tied to each class. You can narrow them, but not add anything new.
• Payment on Extra Classes: Since you only paid for one class initially, you’ll now need to pay for any additional classes you choose to keep.
• NOTE: Each additional class costs $350 in government filing fees. Indie Law won’t charge you any extra legal fees—just the required USPTO amount.
• Claim Your “Core” Class: If nothing else, protect the class that covers your main offerings. That’s the one that matters most for your brand.
• NOTE: Our legal team believes that the current class is the most important one for your situation, but if you’re not sure or would like some extra advising on that let us know.
• Understand that Trademark Protections Extend Beyond Classes. Many classes overlap. Your trademark rights don’t just depend on the class—it’s about whether someone else’s brand is confusingly similar to yours, no matter the class. You can still take action against brands in other classes if confusion is likely.
• Think About Budget vs. Goals: If you’ve got the budget and want to lock down as many rights as possible, go ahead and add more classes. But if you’re more focused on securing your core protection (and not as worried about policing others), sticking with just the one class is a smart, cost-effective move.
Finished reviewing everything above? Great, you’re almost done.
Most clients find this page gives them everything they need to move forward. If that’s you, just reply to the email we sent and let us know how you’d like to proceed.
Still have questions or want to talk it through? Use this calendar to book an advisory call with our team. We’ll walk through your options, explain what’s at stake, and help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
