Many of the applications that originate in China are fraudulent

[Dana Dickson Law, 7-6-21, trademark lawyer, former USPTO worker, “Record-breaking backlog at the USPTO,” , 7-09-24, EP]

There is extra cause for concern here, because a significant percentage of the applications filed on behalf of applicants based in China are fraudulent. Back in 2019, NYU Law professors Barton Beebe and Jeanne Fromer testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that they estimated 66.9% of certain applications filed at the USPTO and originating in China “included fraudulent specimens” (specifically, their research looked at applications filed in 2017 for apparel goods in Class 25). (For the full-text of their testimony, click here.) If an applicant files to register a trademark based on use, they must submit evidence to the USPTO that they are actually using their mark out there in the U.S. marketplace in connection with the goods/services identified in the application. That is the purpose of a specimen. So submitting a fake specimen is a big deal: it represents an effort to bypass the requirement of actual use.