What is an Office Action?
An office action is an official letter you receive from the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) when a legal issue is found with your trademark. Within the office action from the USPTO, you will find a list from an examining attorney that shows any legal problems with your trademark or the trademark application itself. The legal issues listed in the office action must be resolved before your trademark can be registered.
If you receive one this simply means that the examining attorney has done his or her job by thoroughly examining your trademark and application. During the examination the attorney found something that would cause a legal issue and would prevent you from registering your trademark, resulting in the office action letter you received.
Some possible issues that the examining attorney may have found resulting in office action could be as follows:
You do not have the proper class of goods.
You need to change the description of your goods.
You do not have the right specimen or evidence that proves your goods are in use in commerce.
Likelihood of confusion- your brand is too generic or too descriptive and only describes the goods and services. (This would need a full legal brief to refute)
Upon receiving an office action from the USPTO you have six months to respond to the action to keep your trademark alive and moving through the trademark process. If you do not respond to the office action in the time allotted then your trademark application would be considered abandoned and your trademark would be dead.
If you do not respond to the office action, then you would not go any further in the trademark process. To revive your trademark you would have to apply with the USPTO to have the trademark revived or you would have to do a whole new trademark and start the process again.
Office actions are legal and typically need a legal brief to respond to them properly. This is why it is always recommended to get an entrepreneur law attorney to help you in this process. Hiring an entrepreneur law attorney will help increase your chances of beating an office action and allow your trademark to be registered.
It is recommended that any individual seeking to register a trademark for their brand seeks out an entrepreneur attorney at the beginning stages of the application process. An attorney will know the ins and outs of how the USPTO will review an application and will assist you in meeting the requirements and timeframes throughout the process.
If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, or if you need an entrepreneur law attorney to help you with an office action or trademark application you can reach out to The Law Office of Briana Robertson and Briana will be happy to assist you.
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