1. “SEO” is an abbreviation for “Search Engine Optimization”, three words last I counted but this Trademark claim is for a single word. The word Seo and the abbreviation S.E.O. are not the same thing!
- http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77171330

2. The “Trademark” in question is for “Marketing services in the field of computers in the nature of providing marketing services for the benefit of others by compiling advertising campaigns, promotional services, and consulting for customers”. In other words, nothing having to do with rankings, websites, search, a search engine, search engines, data mining, SERPS, search engine results pages, optimization, search engine optimization, algorithms, PageRank, TrustRank, ordering results, increasing rankings based on any factor, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Alta-Vista and/or other “search” related terms.
- http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77171330

3. SEO is a genericized term:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks

4. Class 35 specifically states:

“This Class does not include, in particular:
- services such as evaluations and reports of engineers which do not directly refer to the working or management of affairs in a commercial or industrial enterprise (consult the Alphabetical List of Services).”
- http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/tmfaq.htm

5. The application claims that the “mark” was first used in commerce in 2007. SEO as in the abbreviation, was used much earlier.

Now I’m no attorney and not qualified by any stretch of the imagination to give legal advice but I’ve been through the Trademark process and work with trademarked indicia on a regular basis. Either way, I can’t see how a decent attorney (if any exist ) couldn’t win against BS like this in court…. I’ll be damed, BS isn’t trademarked either. If you really think trademarking SEO is savvy, then why not give SEM or PPC a try!

- beu