To: | Zheng Xu (info@chenabogados.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 87618491 - Q&Z - N/A |
Sent: | 2/14/2019 4:48:46 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM108@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 87618491
MARK: Q&Z
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
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APPLICANT: Zheng Xu
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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OFFICE ACTION
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 2/14/2019
NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE
The problem with applicant’s response: Applicant filed a response on 2/6/19 that appears to have been improperly signed by a foreign attorney who may not represent applicants in trademark matters before the USPTO, and thus has no authority to sign responses on behalf of applicant. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2), 11.14(c); TMEP §602.03(b). 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 §§602, 712.03, 718.03.
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 U.S. commonwealths and U.S. territories; 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. Foreign attorneys, other than authorized Canadian attorneys, do not have authority to sign responses or otherwise represent applicants before the USPTO. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(e), 11.5(b)(2), 11.14(c), (e); TMEP §§602.03(b)-(c), 712.03.
In the present case, the response was improperly signed by Christian Chen because he is identified as “attorney of record, Spain bar member”. Thus, the signer did not have legal authority to represent the applicant or sign responses.
Unless the identified foreign attorney can establish that he or she is authorized under 37 C.F.R. §11.14, then this attorney is not authorized to practice before the USPTO in trademark matters and may not sign responses or otherwise represent applicant in this application. See 37 C.F.R. §2.62(b); TMEP §602.03(e). Any power of attorney to this foreign attorney is void ab initio. TMEP §602.03(e).
What applicant must do to fix the problem: Applicant must submit one of the following:
(1) the entire response, signed by a proper party;
(2) a written statement indicating that the signer is an attorney authorized to practice under 37 C.F.R. §11.14, and is in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. commonwealth or U.S. territory; specifying the jurisdiction in which the attorney is admitted; and providing the attorney’s address; or
(3) a written statement indicating that the signer is a Canadian attorney/agent who (a) is registered with the USPTO and in good standing as a patent agent or (b) has been granted reciprocal recognition by the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. §11.14(c), and providing the attorney’s or agent’s address.
See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(a), (b)(2), (e), 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 2/4/19. 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(a)(2); TMEP §§712.03, 718.03(b).
Applicant is encouraged to respond online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). 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 under 37 C.F.R. §§2.141, 2.142 or a petition to the Director under 37 C.F.R. §2.146. 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(3); 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. 37 C.F.R. §§2.142(a), 2.146(d); see 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2)(ii)-(iii).
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 §§715.03(a)(ii)(E), 718.03. In such case, applicant may file a petition to the Director to request a reversal of the decision to abandon the application. TMEP §§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 through TEAS with a $100 fee. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(15)(ii), 2.146(d); TMEP §1705.04.
GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING RESPONSES
Where an applicant is not represented by an attorney, as in the present case, 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(b)-(h)., 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 who may practice before the USPTO, the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01. For more information about the attorneys who may sign responses and practice before the USPTO in trademark matters, see above. In addition, the proper signatory must personally sign or personally enter his or 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).
/Karen K. Bush/
Law Office 108
571-272-9136
Karen.Bush@uspto.gov
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 the Trademark Electronic Application System (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 the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the TSDR status screen. If the status shows no change for more than six months, contact the Trademark Assistance Center by e-mail at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or 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/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.
TEAS PLUS OR TEAS REDUCED FEE (TEAS RF) APPLICANTS – TO MAINTAIN LOWER FEE, ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET, INCLUDING SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS ONLINE: Applicants who filed their application online using the lower-fee TEAS Plus or TEAS RF application form must (1) file certain documents online using TEAS, including responses to Office actions (see TMEP §§819.02(b), 820.02(b) for a complete list of these documents); (2) maintain a valid e-mail correspondence address; and (3) agree to receive correspondence from the USPTO by e-mail throughout the prosecution of the application. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.22(b), 2.23(b); TMEP §§819, 820. TEAS Plus or TEAS RF applicants who do not meet these requirements must submit an additional processing fee of $125 per class of goods and/or services. 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1)(v), 2.22(c), 2.23(c); TMEP §§819.04, 820.04. However, in certain situations, TEAS Plus or TEAS RF applicants may respond to an Office action by authorizing an examiner’s amendment by telephone or e-mail without incurring this additional fee.
/Karen K. Bush/