UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT OF APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION, THE USPTO MUST RECEIVE APPLICANT’S COMPLETE RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE ISSUE/MAILING DATE BELOW.

 

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 3/4/2012

 

 

TEAS PLUS APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY OR SUBMIT FEE:  Applicants who filed their application online using the reduced-fee TEAS Plus application must continue to submit certain documents online using TEAS, including responses to Office actions.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(1).  For a complete list of these documents, see TMEP §819.02(b).  In addition, such applicants must accept correspondence from the Office via e-mail throughout the examination process and must maintain a valid e-mail address.  37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(2); TMEP §§819, 819.02(a).  TEAS Plus applicants who do not meet these requirements must submit an additional fee of $50 per international class of goods and/or services.  37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iv); TMEP §819.04.  In appropriate situations and where all issues can be resolved by amendment, responding by telephone to authorize an examiner’s amendment will not incur this additional fee.

 

 

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  To avoid abandonment of applicant’s trademark application, the USPTO must receive either a properly signed response or an explanation of the signer’s legal authority to bind or represent applicant within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer.

 

NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE

 

The problem with applicant’s response:  Applicant filed a response on January 24, 2012, that appears to have been improperly signed by a person with no legal authority to bind or represent applicant.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2).  The USPTO cannot accept an improperly signed response; therefore, the contents will not be reviewed.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§712, 712.03, 718.03.

 

The only parties who can properly sign responses are as follows:  (1) the individual applicant(s); (2) someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner); or (3) an authorized attorney.  37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.  In the present case, the response was improperly signed by Shradha Singhavi because she does not appear to be a corporate office, but instead a manager.  Thus, the signer did not have legal authority to bind or represent the applicant.

 

What applicant must do to fix the problem:  Applicant must resubmit the entire response, signed by a proper party, or provide an explanation of the signer’s legal authority to bind or represent applicant, as explained more fully below.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2).  If submitting a newly signed response, applicant must also explicitly address and respond to all the issues raised in the outstanding Office action dated August 3, 2011.  See37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03.  The USPTO must receive a properly signed response or explanation within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(b); TMEP §§712.03, 718.03(b). 

 

Applicant is encouraged to respond online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/index.jsp.  To respond via TEAS, applicant must either (1) complete the entire response form again, responding to all issues raised in the outstanding Office action; or (2) provide an explanation as to the signer’s authority in the “miscellaneous statement” field in the TEAS response form. 

 

If the outstanding Office action was a final Office action, please note that the granting of additional time to perfect a response does not extend the time for filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or a petition to the Director under 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b).  TMEP §718.03(b).  An applicant must file a notice of appeal or petition within six months of the issuance date of a final action.  15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.64(b), 2.142(a).

 

What happens if the USPTO does not receive a properly signed response within the specified time period:  If applicant does not properly respond within the specified time period, this application will be abandoned because applicant filed an incomplete response.  37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §§718.03, 718.03(b).  In such case, applicant may file a petition to the Director to request a reversal of the decision to abandon the application.  TMEP §§715.03(a), 718.03(b), 1713.01-.02; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(a)(3).  The petition must be filed within two months of the date of issuance of the notice of abandonment and may be filed online via TEAS at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/petition_forms.jsp.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.66(a)(1), 2.146(d); TMEP §§1705.04, 1714.01(a), (d).  A $100 fee for such a petition is required.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).

 

GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING RESPONSES

 

As stated above, where an applicant is not represented by an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner).  See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §§611.03(b), 611.06 et seq., 712.01.  In the case of joint applicants, all must sign.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §611.06(a).

 

Where an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01.  The only attorneys who may sign responses and otherwise practice before the USPTO in trademark matters are (1) attorneys in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other federal territories and possessions of the United States; and (2) Canadian agents/attorneys who represent applicants located in Canada and (a) are registered with the USPTO and in good standing as patent agents or (b) have been granted reciprocal recognition by the USPTO.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(e), 2.62(b), 11.1, 11.5(b)(2), 11.14(a), (c); TMEP §§602, 712.01.  Attorneys who fail to meet these requirements, as well as non-attorneys, are generally not permitted to represent applicants in trademark matters before the USPTO; and thus, they may not sign responses.  See 5 U.S.C. §500(b), (d); 37 C.F.R. §11.14(a)-(c), (e); TMEP §§602, 602.02, 608.01. 

 

In addition, the proper signatory must personally sign or personally enter his/her electronic signature.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(a), (e)(2); TMEP §§611.01(b), 611.02.  The name of the signatory must also be printed or typed immediately below or adjacent to the signature, or identified elsewhere in the filing.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(d); TMEP §611.01(b).

 

 

/Rudy R. Singleton/

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

(571) 272-9262

rudy.singleton@uspto

 

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  Go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp.  Please wait 48-72 hours from the issue/mailing date before using TEAS, to allow for necessary system updates of the application.  For technical assistance with online forms, e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov.  For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney.  E-mail communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by e-mail.

 

All informal e-mail communications relevant to this application will be placed in the official application record.

 

WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE:  It must be personally signed by an individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind an applicant (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint applicants).  If an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response. 

 

PERIODICALLY CHECK THE STATUS OF THE APPLICATION:  To ensure that applicant does not miss crucial deadlines or official notices, check the status of the application every three to four months using Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/.  Please keep a copy of the complete TARR screen.  If TARR shows no change for more than six months, call 1-800-786-9199.  For more information on checking status, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/.

 

TO UPDATE CORRESPONDENCE/E-MAIL ADDRESS:  Use the TEAS form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageE.htm.

 

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YOUR TRADEMARK APPLICATION

Your trademark application (Serial No. 85299504) has been reviewed.   The examining attorney assigned by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has written a letter (an “Office Action”) on 3/4/2012 to which you must respond.  Please follow these steps:

 

1. Read the Office letter by clicking on this link OR go to http://tmportal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow and enter your serial number to access the Office letter.       

 

 PLEASE NOTE: The Office letter may not be immediately available but will be viewable within 24 hours of this e-mail notification. 

 

2. Respond within 6 months, calculated from 3/4/2012 (or sooner if specified in the Office letter), using the Trademark Electronic Application System Response to Office Action form. If you have difficulty using the USPTO website, contact TDR@uspto.gov. 

 

3. Contact the examining attorney who reviewed your application with any questions about the content of the office letter:

 

/Rudy R. Singleton/

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

(571) 272-9262

rudy.singleton@uspto

WARNING

Failure to file any required response by the applicable deadline will result in the ABANDONMENT of your application.

Do NOT hit “Reply” to this e-mail notification, or otherwise attempt to e-mail your response, as the USPTO does NOT accept e-mailed responses.  Instead, please use the Trademark Electronic Application System Response to Office Action form.