cannot register all-caps trademark name

My state (Sec of State Office) will not allow me to register as a trademark my ALL CAPS name, saying that I cannot register my name as a trademark, as names cannot be trademarked, whether all caps or not.

Do I have any recourse?

How can I force them to allow this?

I have already filed a UCC-1 financing statement for my ALL CAPS strawman name.

Thanks.

[AndyK]

No recourse is available. Names might be duplicates and trademarking it would put other people with the same name at an unfair disadvantage.

If you were able to trademark "SAM JONES," there would be no legal difference between it and Sam Jones, sam jones, or any other variation. Anmyone else named Sam Jones would have to negotiate a license agreement to use their own name.

Don't believe me? Try to open a restaurant named macdonalds or sell shoes named nikE.

[artificialsteve]

Originally Posted by legalII

My state (Sec of State Office) will not allow me to register as a trademark my ALL CAPS name, saying that I cannot register my name as a trademark, as names cannot be trademarked, whether all caps or not.

Do I have any recourse?

How can I force them to allow this?

I have already filed a UCC-1 financing statement for my ALL CAPS strawman name.

Thanks.

Did you try to register it as a TRADENAME?......I believe that is the better way to go.....however I dont know because I havent got my stuff back from the SOS in Washington...I'll be sure to let you know though!.....one other thing...I think you are supposed to get the tradename FIRST...because you want to use it as evidence of the seperation between the all-caps name and the private person, because many states dont want to recognize the OBVIOUS difference between the two when you submit the financing statement....but if you already did that and they filed it and it's good to go...then I guess you dont really have to do step one!!!

[mrg]

Originally Posted by artificialsteve

Did you try to register it as a TRADENAME?......I believe that is the better way to go.....however I dont know because I havent got my stuff back from the SOS in Washington...I'll be sure to let you know though!.....one other thing...I think you are supposed to get the tradename FIRST...because you want to use it as evidence of the seperation between the all-caps name and the private person, because many states dont want to recognize the OBVIOUS difference between the two when you submit the financing statement....but if you already did that and they filed it and it's good to go...then I guess you dont really have to do step one!!!

Step 1. File UCC 1 with SOS in your birth state.



In box 1a ORGANIZATION'S NAME

DOE, JOHN, JAY, ORGANIZATION/TRADE NAME/TRADE MARK - DEBTOR

That takes care of that.

In box 1e TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

DBA

That takes care of that.

Originally Posted by artificialsteve

Did you try to register it as a TRADENAME?......I believe that is the better way to go.....however I dont know because I havent got my stuff back from the SOS in Washington...I'll be sure to let you know though!.....one other thing...I think you are supposed to get the tradename FIRST...because you want to use it as evidence of the seperation between the all-caps name and the private person, because many states dont want to recognize the OBVIOUS difference between the two when you submit the financing statement....but if you already did that and they filed it and it's good to go...then I guess you dont really have to do step one!!!

My state only allows either trademarks or service marks registration. So I would have to register my ALL CAPS name as a trademark.

How would I get a 'tradename', other than what I am trying to do by registering my ALL CAPS name as a trademark?

Originally Posted by mrg

Step 1. File UCC 1 with SOS in your birth state.



In box 1a ORGANIZATION'S NAME

DOE, JOHN, JAY, ORGANIZATION/TRADE NAME/TRADE MARK - DEBTOR

That takes care of that.

In box 1e TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

DBA

That takes care of that.

Are you saying that it is not necessary for me to register my ALL CAPS name as a trademark if I already have filed a UUC-1 financing statement with the SOS; ie., I will have accomplished the same thing via the UCC FS and trademarking my ALL CAPS name will add very little to the process?

Nonetheless, the SoS is in error by disallowing me to register my ALL CAPS name as a trademark as common law takes precedence over statutes. I am going to pursue this avenue of redress if all else fails.

[mrg]

Originally Posted by legalII

How did you fill out the UCC 1's?
As an INDIVIDUAL, (Box[es] 1b) or as an ORGANIZATION (Box 1a)?
If as an ORGANIZATION did you stipulate in box 1a:
DOE, JOHN JAMES, ORGANIZATION/TRADEMARK/TRADENAME - DEBTOR?

UCC 1-308 says this very thing, very clearly.

Where and how are you trying to register your ALL CAPS name as a trademark?

The ALL CAPS is not your name per se.

What exactly is the SoS disallowing, and which SoS is disallowing which and what?

The SoS of the Berth State or the SoS of the Secured Party's place of sojourn?

There is more than one way to skin a mule, (or an elephant).

I am not realy sure what you are asking or what you have done, or how you have done it, or what has happened.

These are just some comments for whatever they might be worth.

How did you fill out the UCC 1's?
As an INDIVIDUAL, (Box[es] 1b) or as an ORGANIZATION (Box 1a)?
If as an ORGANIZATION did you stipulate in box 1a:
DOE, JOHN JAMES, ORGANIZATION/TRADEMARK/TRADENAME - DEBTOR?

Ans. The UCCs were filled out with my CAPS name as an org and as a debtor.
However, I did not put in TRADEMARK/TRADENAME next to the ALL CAPS name.



Where and how are you trying to register your ALL CAPS name as a trademark?

Ans. At the SoS office, Trademark registration desk.

The ALL CAPS is not your name per se.

What exactly is the SoS disallowing, and which SoS is disallowing which and what?

Ans. Not accepting my application, saying that I cannot trademark my “name”.

The SoS of the Berth State or the SoS of the Secured Party's place of sojourn?

Ans. The SoS of the Birth state, also the Secured Partys state.


There is more than one way to skin a mule, (or an elephant).

I am not realy sure what you are asking or what you have done, or how you have done it, or what has happened.


Ans. I am just trying to register my ALL CAPS name as a trademark in the SoS office.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[J.W.]

Filing a UCC-1 does not effecuate the trademarking of anything whatsoever. As stated so many times UCC-1 filings are for the purposes of creating a priority lien right in hte public record for the protection and benefit of a creditor. The idea is that in the event that a debtor defaults under a secured contract, if the debtor has other creditors whoever has the priority claim will be able to pursue further actions pursuant to the contract and associated lien right.

[David Merrill]

Originally Posted by legalII

Do I have any recourse?

How can I force them to allow this?

This may be helpful. On May 2, a suitor was told the SoS would no longer give out Certificates of Fact on oaths that they did not have on file. The staff even informed him it was because the Attorney General John Suthers might be angry enough to think it actionable to provide that kind of information to people. [In fact providing it to me in 1996 saw John Suthers suddenly resigning the day after I filed it into the State district court case; him prosecutor after running a vacant District Attorney office for eight years.]

I suggested that the suitor return to the SoS the next day carrying the mission statement of the SoS and demand the Certificate. Not only that, but he let them know he was intending to on May 2 before he left the SoS office. They called him on his way out of Denver saying John Suthers had faxed over an oath but it was not filed so they could not officially provide it. He held his ground that he would be demanding a Certificate the next day when he returned to Denver.

The SoS provided the oath you see here. Suthers only had 30 days by law to get the oath filed so by the Colorado constitution he is running a vacant office and by principal and agent relationship, all the District Attorneys under the vacant Attorney General are as well.

http://Friends-n-Family-Research.inf...9;_AG_oath.jpg

However I disagree with the Strawman approach. That is the name on your birth certificate, no? So what do you think you are doing? It is stupid to re-register it and besides, if somebody were to try using the STRAWMAN against you (which they are not - you solely use it against yourself and pseudonomania prevents you from recognizing true cause-and-effect) then you could just get a Certificate of Fact from the SoS saying that it is not a registered corporation: That that corporation is not allowed to operate in the State of XXXXXXX!* This is the insanity bred into our perceptions and conditioning by the paranoid delirium of the people who invented that convention model about the Strawman. I am simply pointing out how to get the Secretary of State to do his or her job of registering corporations.


Regards,

David Merrill.


* There are rumors that you can bill somebody for using the Strawman (copyright infringement etc). And that billing can lead to liens. The theory sounds great but you will be hard-pressed to find any success stories about this process.