Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127, are the statutory bases for refusing a specimen that does not meet the requirements of an acceptable service-mark specimen; such specimen is not acceptable because it does not show the mark in "use in commerce." For instance, if the mark does not appear on the specimen or the specimen shows use of the mark in connection with goods rather than the identified services, the specimen must be refused for failure to show service-mark use in commerce in connection with the identified services.

The applicant’s response options include submitting an acceptable substitute specimen or, if appropriate, amending the application to a §1(b) filing basis. See TMEP §806.03(c) regarding amending filing basis from §1(a) to §1(b), and §904.07 regarding requirements for substitute specimens. In some cases, the applicant may respond by providing clarification of the nature of the original specimen submitted, or an explanation of the content of the original specimen, to justify its acceptability.

The examining attorney may consider any of the following facts and evidence properly made of record:

1. declarations from persons with firsthand knowledge of the facts, with a sufficiently detailed explanation of how the mark is used in advertising or rendering the services or how the services are advertised or rendered;
2. clarification of the specimen of record, such as an explanation of the nature, content, or context of use of the specimen (this explanation need not be verified with a declaration);
3. evidence, such as declarations or industry-related periodicals, regarding industry practice with respect to how marks and services are promoted in advertising or how the services are rendered;
4. additional background materials, such as printouts showing information on subsequent webpages from the applicant’s website or subsequent screenshots of an electronic device on which the services may be accessed, rendered, and experienced (this matter generally need not be verified with a declaration); and/or
5. responses to any Trademark Rule 2.61(b) request for information.

If the specimen of record, the specimen description, the applicant’s response and explanations, and any additional proffered evidence are unpersuasive, a final refusal must issue, if the application is otherwise in condition for final. See 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b); TMEP §714.03.