Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

NOTICE THAT REQUEST TO DIVIDE APPLICATION

IS INCOMPLETE

Response Required

The USPTO must receive applicant’s response to this notice within 30 days of the issue date below or the request to divide the application will be denied.  Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this notice.

Issue date:  February 4, 2021

The request to divide the above-identified application filed on January 8, 2021 appears to have been improperly signed by a person with no legal authority to bind or represent applicant and cannot be processed.  All requests to divide must be properly signed before they can be processed.  37 C.F.R. §§2.87(f), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§611.03(b), 1110.06.  Therefore, applicant has thirty (30) days from the date of this Office action to submit a properly signed request to divide, otherwise, the request will not be processed. 

A request to divide an application must be submitted in a document separate from any other document, be identified as a “request to divide the application,” and be properly signed.  37 C.F.R. §2.87(d), (f); TMEP §1110.04.

GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING REQUEST TO DIVIDE:  Where an applicant is not represented by an attorney, the request to divide 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).  In the case of joint applicants, all must sign.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §§611.03(b), 611.06 et seq.  Where an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the request to divide.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §611.03(b).  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.

Improperly Signed Revocation of Power of Attorney – Not Signed by Applicant/Someone Able to Bind Applicant

A Change Address or Representation Form was filed on August 31, 2020; however, it was not properly signed by applicant or someone with legal authority to bind applicant, and it will not be processed.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.19(a)(1), 2.193(e)(3); TMEP §§606, 611.03(c).

For the USPTO to accept a revocation of a power of attorney, it must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner). See 37 C.F.R. §§2.19(a)(1), 2.193(e)(3); TMEP §§606, 611.03(c).

In the present case, the party who signed the document, Theodore Sangalis, Associate Counsel, does not have legal authority to bind applicant because in-house counsel may not revoke or appoint a power of attorney unless he or she is also authorized to legally bind the applicant/registrant (i.e., corporate officer or general partner).   Therefore, the attorney of record and correspondence information will not be changed.

Changes of correspondence address, revocations and powers of attorney can be filed online via the USPTO website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks-application-process/filing-online/correspondence-and-attorneydomestic-representative.

Insufficient fees

The request to divide is incomplete and cannot be processed.  The applicant is requesting to divide some, but not all, of the goods within a single class.  The total fees due for the request to divide and for dividing within a class are $450, calculated as follows:

• $100 for processing the request to divide the original (parent) application into one new child application;

                                PLUS

• $350 for dividing within Class 29, resulting in the creation of one new child application containing one class, i.e., Class 29.

Applicant must submit the remaining balance of $350 for dividing within Class 29.   Applicant has thirty (30) days from the issuance date of this letter to submit the required fees. 

Please call the undersigned with any questions.

How to respond.  Click to file a Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU)/Divisional Unit Office action.

Direct questions about this notice to the assigned Intent-to-use staff member below.

/Mary Sananikone/

Mary Sananikone

Intent to Use/Divisional Unit

mary.sananikone@uspto.gov

571-272-9394

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the request to divide the application to be denied.  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted or processed and can cause the request to divide the application to be denied.  If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant.  If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.