Office Actions
When the USPTO reviews your trademark application, one of three things will happen.
- The examiner will find no reason to refuse your mark and your application will proceed to publication for opposition
- The examiner will identify a non-substantive reason to refuse your registration and issue an office action
- The examiner will identify a substantive reason to refuse your registration and issue an office action
What is an Office Action?
When many applicants receive an Office Action, they panic and assume that they have no hope of registering their trademark. An Office Action is simply a notice from the USPTO that there is some reason the examiner cannot allow your application to proceed without further information.
Some Office Actions are non-substantive. For example, the examiner may want you to disclaim a certain portion of the mark because it is common to many marks in a particular field. Others are substantive, such as a refusal to register the mark because it is confusingly similar to another registered mark.
Regardless of the reason for the refusal, an applicant must respond to an Office Action within 6 months or the application will be abandoned. We can help. Many refusals for both non-substantive and substantive reasons can be overcome by a skilled trademark attorney.
If we filed your application, we will review the Office Action when it issues and evaluate the examiner's reasoning. We will then provide you with a quote to complete a response on your behalf. Upon your approval and payment, we will prepare a response to the Office Action including the arguments and legal bases as to why the examiner's refusal is improper.
If we did not file your application, simply provide us with the serial number of the application and we will review the Office Action and provide you with a quote to complete a response on your behalf.
Some Office Actions are non-substantive. For example, the examiner may want you to disclaim a certain portion of the mark because it is common to many marks in a particular field. Others are substantive, such as a refusal to register the mark because it is confusingly similar to another registered mark.
Regardless of the reason for the refusal, an applicant must respond to an Office Action within 6 months or the application will be abandoned. We can help. Many refusals for both non-substantive and substantive reasons can be overcome by a skilled trademark attorney.
If we filed your application, we will review the Office Action when it issues and evaluate the examiner's reasoning. We will then provide you with a quote to complete a response on your behalf. Upon your approval and payment, we will prepare a response to the Office Action including the arguments and legal bases as to why the examiner's refusal is improper.
If we did not file your application, simply provide us with the serial number of the application and we will review the Office Action and provide you with a quote to complete a response on your behalf.