A slogan may be used for the purpose of distinguishing the wares or services of the brand owner from those of others and function as a trademark. In other cases the slogan will simply be part of the advertising used by the brand owner. Examples of well-known slogans are Nike's JUST DO IT® and General Electric's GE BRINGS GOOD THINGS TO LIFE®.

The United States Patent and Trademarks Office ("USPTO") randomly selected five hundred owners of trademark registrations and required them to submit proof of use of their trademarks. It seems that over half of the owners of the registrations selected for the pilot did not meet the requirement to show use. As a result of these findings a roundtable discussion of stakeholders was organized by the USPTO to discuss suggestions for ensuring the accuracy and the integrity of the Trademark Register.

As previously indicated I was asked to attend on behalf of the American Bar Association because Canada has a procedure for the summary removal of deadwood from the Canadian Trademark Register that is not currently available in the U.S. In the U.S. to accomplish the same result an action must be brought for cancellation which is much more complex and expensive.

I did attend and presented a brief dealing with the Canadian procedure and how it works. Click here for a copy of the brief.

It will be interesting to see what steps will be taken in the U.S. to ensure the accuracy and integrity of their Trademark Register.