Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

NON-RESPONSIVE SUBMISSION

 

 

Issue date:  August 28, 2019

 

 

 

Notice of Incomplete Response – Response Not Signed by Applicant’s Attorney

 

Deadline for responding to this notice.  To avoid abandonment of the application, the USPTO must receive a properly signed response within either (1) thirty days from the issue date above, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer.  TMEP §712.03; see 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)(2).  The response must be received by the USPTO no later than midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response deadline. 

 

Response is not signed by a proper party and cannot be accepted.  Applicant filed a response on August 8, 2018 that was signed by applicant instead of applicant’s attorney.  If 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).  The USPTO cannot accept a response signed by an improper party; therefore, the contents will not be reviewed.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.62(b); TMEP §718.03. 

 

Who can sign the response.

APPLICANT MUST HAVE AN ATTORNEY.  The attorney must sign the response.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §712.01.  The only attorneys who may sign responses are (1) attorneys in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state or territory, and (2) Canadian trademark attorneys or agents reciprocally recognized by the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(a), 11.14(a), (c), (e); TMEP §602.

 

Applicant has provided what appears to be an invalid attorney name. 

 

The application record indicates that applicant’s appointed or designated attorney Cyndi Krystal  is admitted to practice in the U.S. state of California; however, bar records of that California do not list this name.  Thus, it appears that this individual is not qualified to practice law before the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. §11.14.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.17(a).  Because the name listed in the application record does not appear to be that of a qualified practitioner, the USPTO will not update the correspondence information to include this name and will instead issue correspondence directly to the applicant at the address specified in the initial application.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(5); TMEP §609.01.

 

Attorney bar credentials may be required.  The application record indicates that applicant is represented by Cyndi Krystal; however, the record is unclear about whether this individual is qualified to practice law at the USPTO.  See 37 C.F.R. §11.14(a); TMEP §§602 et seq.  Only authorized attorneys may practice law at the USPTO in trademark matters.  37 C.F.R. §2.17(a); TMEP §§602.01-.03.  If applicant continues to designate this U.S.-licensed attorney in the application, applicant must provide documentation showing the attorney’s active bar membership in good standing in the designated bar, such as a certificate of good standing, a letter from the bar, or if the bar lists a member’s standing and admission details, a printout from the website of the specified bar showing the URL and print date.  37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(3), 2.61(b).  If the originally submitted attorney bar information is incorrect, applicant’s attorney must specify the correct bar information and provide supporting documentation showing the attorney’s active bar membership in good standing.  37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(3), 2.61(b).  Otherwise, applicant may appoint or designate a different attorney who is qualified to practice law before the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. §11.14.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.17(a). 

 

To provide attorney bar credentials.  Open the correct TEAS response form and enter the serial number, answer “yes” to wizard question #3, and on the “Additional Statement(s)” page in the “Miscellaneous Statement” field (1) explain the documentation provided and (2) click the button below the text box to attach evidence.

 

To appoint or designate a different U.S.-licensed attorney.  To appoint a different U.S.-licensed attorney, applicant should (1) submit a completed Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Revocation, Appointment, and/or Change of Address of Attorney/Domestic Representative form and (2) promptly notify the trademark examining attorney that this TEAS form was submitted.  Alternatively, if applicant has already retained a different attorney, the attorney can respond to this Office action by using the appropriate TEAS response form and provide his or her attorney information in the form and sign it as applicant’s attorney.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.17(b)(1)(ii).

 

The USPTO must receive a properly signed response before the deadline or the USPTO will consider the application abandoned.  37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03.  In such case, applicant may file a new application with a new fee.  A petition to the Director to reverse the holding of abandonment may be granted in very limited circumstances as outlined in TMEP §1713.01.

 

 

 

Responses to Office actions must be properly signed.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§712, 712.01.  If an applicant is represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney authorized to 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. 

 

 

 

 

/Kara E. Jackson/

Kara E. Jackson

Examining Attorney

Law Office 120

571-272-4358

Kara.Jackson@uspto.gov

 

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on August 28, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88358284

 

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. 

 

/Kara E. Jackson/

Kara E. Jackson

Examining Attorney

Law Office 120

571-272-4358

Kara.Jackson@uspto.gov

 

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.”