Did you know? USPTO status "Non-Final Action - Mailed"

What does "Non-Final Action -  Mailed" mean?

A Non-Final Office Action is a Letter prepared by an Examining Attorney of the United States Trademark Office after reviewing the application for the first time. A time limit to respond to the Office Action is usually within 6 months from the mailing date noted on the Office Action unless otherwise mentioned.

In other words, The United States Patent and Trademark Office cannot at this time register the trademark application. [Please note, this is not a an outright rejection] They are requesting further information, evidence and/or proof in order to move forward with the trademark registration process. 

Popular Misconception:

1.  "This isn't a big deal..." Yes it is! Look below!!

Is this Status update important, do I have to follow up with anything?

Yes, this status update is VERY important. If you do not respond to the USPTO within the 6 month deadline period, your trademark application will become abandoned!


Why Trademarks Go Abandoned because of an Office Action Letter:

1. Top Reason They simply miss the letter...unfortunately the USPTO doesn't send you friendly reminders :(
2. The trademark applicant does not know what an Office Action Letter is...or what to do with it. So they let the trademark application go expired.  
3. A trademark applicant reads the letter, gets confused by the legal formalities, and think the USPTO rejected their application, so they do not bother to even try responding to the letter.

If this happens to you, please consult an expert trademark attorney to assist you!

Click here, to go back to the menu and find other explanations of common USPTO status's.

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Did you know? USPTO status "New Application: Record Initialized Not Assigned to an Examiner"

What does "New Application: Record Initialized Not Assigned to an Examiner" mean?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office, may take about a year to fully register a trademark, during which time the trademark application goes through a series of steps, and this status informs the applicant of the first step.

Popular Misconceptions:

1.  "I have a Serial Number so that means I have a registered trademark!" Not exactly.  An assigned Serial Number indicates that you have initiated an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. All properly submitted trademark applications begin with having a "record initialized" with the USPTO. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will receive U.S. federal registration in the end, the USPTO is simplyacknowledging the existence of the trademark application. 
• *Note* A trademark with this status, is not 'done' becoming registered with the USPTO.
• *Note* Only a "Registered" status means that you have a registered U.S. federal trademark with the USPTO.
2. "Not assigned to an Examiner?? When will they start reviewing it?!" Don't worry and don't fret, the USPTO must first log the trademark application into their system before they can assign it to a trademark examiner for review. That is normally the next step.
• *Note* If you use the paper filing method, it may take 2 weeks to receive a serial number.

Is this Status update important, do I have to follow up with anything?

Yes, this status is meaningful in the sense that it informs the trademark applicant that the USPTO has received their trademark application and assigned a serial number. However, it is simply a notice to you, and does not require any follow up at the time.

• You can use the ™ symbol to stand for your brand name in commerce. 

Click here, to go back to the menu and find other explanations of common USPTO status 

(See latest filed trademarks with the US. Patent and Trademark Office directly on the Trademarkia homepage!)

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USPTO Status's Explained

Look out for a blog posts this week about common USPTO status updates, what they are, and why they may or may not be important to you.

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This is a menu post to find all of the individual blog posts hyperlinked to each other:
(No link, means that it has not been posted yet, but will be)

New Application - Record Initialized Not Assigned to Examiner

Non-Final Action - Mailed

(See latest filed trademarks with the US. Patent and Trademark Office directly on the Trademarkia homepage!)

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