Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

NONFINAL OFFICE ACTION

 

The USPTO must receive applicant’s response to this letter within six months of the issue date below or the application will be abandoned.  Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

 

Issue date:  October 30, 2019

 

Notice of Incomplete Response – Response Not Signed by Applicant’s Current 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 October 16, 2019 that was signed by a different attorney from a different law firm than the current attorney and firm of record in this application.  The revocation or power of attorney filed prior to this response was not properly signed by applicant; thus the new attorney does not have authority to sign the response.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(c)(2), 2.19(a)(1), 2.193(e)(3); TMEP §§604.03, 611.03(b)-(c).  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. 

 

Response options for this notice.  Applicant must either (1) submit a response signed by applicant’s current attorney, or (2) sign and file a new revocation or appointment of attorney using the Revocation and Appointment of Attorney form and then resubmit the response signed by the new attorney.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(1)(i), 2.19(a)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2)(i).  Click to respond to a previous nonfinal Office action.  See below for information about who can sign a response. 

 

Who can sign the response.

Applicant has an attorney.  The attorney must sign the response.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §712.01.  When, as in this case, an applicant who was initially represented by an attorney hires a different attorney from a different law firm, the new attorney from the different firm can sign responses only after the applicant has signed and filed a revocation of the current attorney or a power/appointment of attorney for the new attorney, or the current attorney withdraws.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(c), 2.19(a)-(b), 2.193(e)(3); TMEP §604.03. 

 

Applicant does not have an attorney.  The response must be signed by (1) the individual applicant, (2) someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer of a corporation, or a general partner of a partnership), or (3) all joint applicants.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §§611.06(a)-(h), 712.01. 

 

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.

 

RESPONSE GUIDELINES

 

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.  

 

 

How to respond.  Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action  

 

 

/Cheryl Kluwe/

Cheryl Kluwe

Examining Attorney

Law Office 126

(571) 270-3839

cheryl.kluwe@uspto.gov

 

 

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon.  A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon.  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.

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on October 30, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88416802

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter that you must respond to by the specified deadline or your application will be abandoned.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.

 

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

 

 

/Cheryl Kluwe/

Cheryl Kluwe

Examining Attorney

Law Office 126

(571) 270-3839

cheryl.kluwe@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).

 

(3)  Respond within 6 months (or earlier, if required in the Office action) from October 30, 2019, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  See the Office action for more information about how to respond.

 

 

 

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.”