Short answer: If you need to show the USPTO that a trademark is in use in US commerce, the usual evidence is a specimen: a real example of how the mark appears on the goods, on their packaging, or in the sale or advertising of a service, not a mock-up. For a website specimen, the USPTO expects a screenshot that includes the URL and the date the page was accessed. Advertising alone is generally not enough for goods. A TimeBind can date the exact screenshot, label photo or packaging photo you kept, so you can later show that this file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. It does not prove the mark was used in commerce, does not replace an application, a Statement of Use, or a maintenance filing, and it is not a trademark registration. This page is for the US. For UK and EU prior-use evidence see our UK and EU guide; for Australia see the Australian guide.
Last checked 12 November 2026. General information about official USPTO specimen and evidence-of-use requirements for people who have, or are applying for, a US trademark, not legal advice and not a substitute for a trademark attorney or the USPTO’s own instructions. US practice is not the same as UK, EU or Australian practice. TimeBinder does not file trademarks, does not decide whether a specimen is acceptable, and a dated file is not proof that a mark was used in commerce.
Table of Contents
Why this page exists
In the 28 days to 9 November 2026, Google Search Console showed queries such as “trademark evidence of use” (7 impressions, average position 76) and “evidence of use trademark” (3 impressions, position 68) reaching this site, with no dedicated US page to answer them. Google autocomplete on 12 November 2026 completed those phrases with “trademark proof of use specimen,” “us trademark evidence of use” and “uspto trademark proof of use.” We already publish a UK and EU prior-use guide and an Australian guide. This page covers the USPTO’s own specimen rules, in outline, and what a dated file can and cannot add.
Two different jobs get mixed up in those queries. One is evidence of use in commerce for a US application or a maintenance filing (a specimen). The other is evidence of prior use in a dispute about who used a mark first. The USPTO pages cited below are mainly about specimens. Prior-use conflicts have their own records (dated invoices, packaging, advertising, domain captures) and, if they ever matter, legal advice. A TimeBind can date either kind of file. It does not decide the legal question.
What the USPTO says a specimen needs to show
The USPTO’s pages “Drawings and specimens as application requirements” and “Specimens,” together with 37 CFR 2.56, are the official starting point. In outline, and subject always to those pages:
- One specimen per class, showing the mark as actually used in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services in that class.
- For goods, a specimen typically shows the mark on the product itself, on a container or packaging, on a label or tag, or on a point-of-sale display associated with the goods. Advertising is generally not an acceptable specimen for goods. A digitally created mock-up, a rendering, a printer’s proof, or an altered image is not a substitute for a real example of use.
- For services, a specimen typically shows the mark as used in the sale or advertising of the services, or in the rendering of the services, in a way that makes the connection clear.
- Website screenshots used as specimens should include the URL and the date the page was accessed. The display must actually show the mark being used in a way that meets the goods or services rules above, not merely a decorative use or a mark on an inner page with no way to buy or order.
- The drawing of the mark in the application (how the mark is represented on the form) is a different requirement from the specimen (how the mark is used in the real world). Both have to match the mark you claim.
Applications based on use in commerce under section 1(a) of the Lanham Act need a specimen at filing. Applications based on an intent to use under section 1(b) need a specimen later, usually with a Statement of Use or an Amendment to Allege Use. Maintenance filings, including a Declaration of Use under section 8, also require specimens. Deadlines and grace periods are set by the USPTO; this page does not recap every deadline.
Practical checklist
- Collect real use, not mock-ups. Photograph the label on the actual product or packaging, or capture the live sales page, rather than a design file that was never applied to goods.
- For a website capture, keep the URL and the access date visible on the screenshot or in a full-page save, and keep a second copy of the same file. The USPTO asks for that information on website specimens.
- Keep a set, not a single image. Useful files often include: the packaging photo, the product-tag photo, the dated sales-page capture, and (separately, for your own prior-use file) invoices, dispatch records and older advertising. Invoices are supporting records; they are not automatically a specimen of the mark on the goods.
- Note the class, the goods or services description, and the date of the example. A specimen has to match the class you filed or intend to file.
- Date the exact files you may later need to show. A TimeBind records that this exact screenshot or photograph existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. That can help you show you still have the file you made on a given day. It does not prove the website was live, that a sale took place, or that the USPTO will accept the specimen. For the hash itself you can use the free SHA-256 file hash checker. For screenshot files generally, see the screenshot timestamping hub.
If your mark is used in the UK, the EU or Australia as well, keep a separate file that follows those offices’ rules. See UK and EU trade mark prior use: the evidence to keep and how to prove prior use of a trademark in Australia.
What a TimeBind does and does not show
A TimeBind is a dated, checkable record that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. The SHA-256 fingerprint is made in your browser and the file is never uploaded. The record is anchored to Bitcoin (a Merkle root in an OP_RETURN). Your first Pooled TimeBind is free; after that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. See how it works.
In a trademark file, a useful TimeBind is often the packaging photograph, the label, or the website screenshot that includes the URL and the access date. You can later show that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches.
A TimeBind does not prove that a mark was used in US commerce, does not prove priority over another party, does not make a specimen acceptable to the USPTO, does not register a trademark, and does not replace legal advice. It also does not show who designed a logo, and it does not create a copyright or an ownership right in the mark.
Limits
USPTO practice is detailed, and refusals for specimens are common when the image is a mock-up, when a goods specimen is only an advertisement, or when a webpage does not show a way to order the goods. The official pages, and a trademark attorney if the filing matters, are the right place for a decision about your mark. This page is an outline for people who already have use in the US and want to keep better files. It is written for a US (and, by comparison, EU) audience; it is not an EU trade mark filing guide.
Tools that can help
Start with the USPTO: drawings and specimens and specimen refusals. On this site, the free SHA-256 file hash checker and the screenshot timestamping hub help you fingerprint and date the files you keep. For other jurisdictions, use the UK and EU prior-use guide. There are no affiliate links on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is a dated screenshot enough for the USPTO?
A website specimen generally needs to show the mark used in a qualifying way, and to include the URL and the date the page was accessed. A TimeBind can date the screenshot file. It does not, on its own, make the specimen acceptable, and it does not prove the page was live at that URL.
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Can I use an advertisement as a specimen for goods?
Generally no, on the USPTO pages we read. For goods, the specimen usually needs to show the mark on the product, packaging, a label or tag, or a point-of-sale display. Advertising is more often relevant for services, or as a supporting record in your own file. Check the official specimen examples.
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Does a TimeBind register my trademark or prove I own it?
No. A TimeBind does not file an application, does not register a mark, and does not prove ownership, priority or use in commerce. It only records that an exact file existed by a date and still matches.
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I also trade in the EU. Will a USPTO specimen file be enough there?
Not as a rule we can state. EU and UK evidence rules differ from USPTO specimen practice. Keep a jurisdiction-specific file, and see our UK and EU prior-use guide. This page does not replace advice on an EU trade mark.
Sources checked
- USPTO, “Drawings and specimens as application requirements,” https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/drawings-and-specimens (read 12 November 2026)
- USPTO, “Specimens” (specimen refusal and how to overcome it), https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/laws/specimen-refusal-and-how-overcome-refusal (read 12 November 2026)
- 37 CFR 2.56, Specimens, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-2/subject-group-ECFR50b8373a9da6368/section-2.56 (read 12 November 2026)
Date the specimen files you actually have
Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Click here to start, or see plans and pricing.
