Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application

 

 

 

NON-RESPONSIVE SUBMISSION

 

 

Issue date:  July 24, 2019

 

 

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  To avoid abandonment of applicant’s trademark application, the USPTO must receive a properly signed response 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 07/16/2019 that appears to have been improperly signed by a different attorney from a different firm than the attorney(s) of record in this application.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7).  If applicant has retained a new attorney, the new attorney may not sign responses until applicant files a new power and/or revocation of attorney.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7); TMEP §604.03.  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 §§712.03, 718.03.  

 

What applicant must do to fix the problem:  Applicant must satisfy one of the following:  

 

(1)        Submit a response properly signed by applicant’s current attorney of record.

 

(2)        File a revocation of attorney signed by applicant and then resubmit a response properly signed by the new attorney.

 

(3)        File a power of attorney signed by applicant and then resubmit a response properly signed by the new attorney.

 

See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(1)(i), (c), 2.19(a)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2)(i).  

 

The resubmitted response must explicitly address and respond to all the issues raised in the outstanding Office action dated 01/16/2019.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03.  The USPTO must receive a properly signed response per the above 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 complete the entire response form again, responding to all issues raised in the outstanding Office action.  Revocations and powers of attorney forms can also be filed online.  

 

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), 2.66(a)(1); TMEP §1705.04.  

 

GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING RESPONSES

 

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.  However, if applicant is initially represented by an attorney, and then later retains a different attorney from a different firm, the newly retained attorney may not sign responses until applicant files a new power and/or revocation of attorney.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7); TMEP §604.03.

 

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).

 

 

 

 

/Natalie Polzer/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 108

Phone:  (571) 272-4103

natalie.polzer@uspto.gov (not for formal responses)

 

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on July 24, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88141684

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.  No response is necessary.

 

(2)  Direct questions about the contents of the Office action to the assigned attorney below. 

 

/Natalie Polzer/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 108

Phone:  (571) 272-4103

natalie.polzer@uspto.gov (not for formal responses)

 

Direct questions about navigating USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and/or whether there are outstanding deadlines or documents related to your file to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

 

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

·         Check the status of your application periodically in the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database to avoid missing critical deadlines.

 

·         Update your correspondence email address, if needed, to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·         Beware of misleading notices sent by private companies about your application.  Private companies not associated with the USPTO use public information available in trademark registrations to mail and email trademark-related offers and notices – most of which require fees.  All official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”