Intellectual Property Law
Helping Businesses and Entrepreneurs Nationwide

Office Actions / Provisional Refusals

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office occasionally refuses trademark applications after an initial review by an Examining Attorney. Such refusals entitle the applicant to respond within 6 months of the mailing of the office action/provisional refusal. Refusals may be informal, requiring clarification or amendment of the application in order to place it in proper condition for publication. Informalities include problems with the identification of goods or services, the legal entity status or citizenship of the applicant, improper specimens, or improper dates of use. More complicated problems may involve substantive legal refusals based on statutory prohibitions, such as refusals based on mere descriptiveness (or generic marks), likelihood of confusion, surnames, false suggestion of connection, or scandalous marks. Whatever the problem may be our experienced trademark attorneys will provide a free evaluation to determine whether or not the problem can be fixed. After the consultation, we will provide a quote for responding to the office action/provisional refusal.