1306.06(b) Specimens of Use for Certification Marks
A certification mark specimen must show how a person other than the owner uses the mark to certify regional or other origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of that person’s goods or services; or that members of a union or other organization performed the work or labor on the goods or services. 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(5). See In re Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists, 85 USPQ2d 1403 (TTAB 2007).
Although a certification mark performs a different function from a trademark or a service mark, it is used in a manner analogous to that of a trademark or a service mark (i.e., on a label, tag, or container for the goods, a display associated with the goods, or in the performance or advertising of services). Thus, materials that bear the mark, and are actually attached or applied to the goods or used in relation to the services by the persons authorized to use the mark, constitute proper specimens.
Sometimes, the owner/certifier prepares tags or labels that bear the certification mark and that are supplied to the authorized users to attach to their goods or use in relation to their services. See Ex parte Porcelain Enamel Institute, Inc., 110 USPQ 258 (Comm’r Pats. 1956). These tags or labels are acceptable specimens.
The same standards used to evaluate the acceptability of trademark and service mark specimens also apply to certification marks. See TMEP §§904 et seq.