Anyone versed in TM law? (Non domain TM question)

[Mahogany]

I know one should hire a TM lawyer when you a TM question but they can be expensive and I figured maybe someone here can help me.

My wife wants to design some shirts with a numeric code on them. Screen printing and embroidery. More of a pet project. However she'd like to TM the numeric sequence to ensure no one in the future can use the same numeric digits on "Clothing". She could care less how the numbers are used elsewhere but she'd feel comfortable if she knew she couldn't be knocked off.

The numeric sequence in question has one "live" TM, according to the TM search. However the TM has nothing to do with clothing and also includes other elements with numbers. For the sake my post lets say the numeric code is "1804" (Which it isnt).... And this is the only TM: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=4803:dvu697.3.248


Can we still fill a TM for these numbers only for clothing? Thanks in advance for your reply

 

[jberryhill]

A couple of things are worth pointing out here.

First, in the US, you don't "get" trademark rights by filing an application and obtaining a registration from the USPTO. Trademark rights are established by the use of a mark used on or in connection with the goods which is distinctive and serves as an indicator of the source or origin of the goods (i.e. that goods so-marked 'are the same type of goods' as other goods so-marked). Obtaining registration with the USPTO establishes certain benefits such as public notice, presumptive validity, and a few other things, but registration is not what "gets you a trademark."

Second, links to search results from the USPTO TESS system are session specific. You are the only one who can see what you linked in your OP. If you want an absolute link to a USPTO record, then click on the "TSDR" button on the record (top left above the record) and post that.

Third, trademark questions tend to be fact-specific, and things that you think are "sort of like" your situation are hardly ever comparable.

Can a number be a mark for clothing? Certainly. Look at Levi's "501" jeans, for example.

If it is a mark for something else, can it still be used for clothing? That's a different question. If you are going to use "57" in the same font and color that Heinz does for condiments then, yes, you are going to have a problem.