After submitting the application and paying the application fee, Trademark applications will be reviewed by the examiners responsible for trademark examination. According to "Review guide" The first 704 The relevant provisions of the, The examination of trademark applications by the examiner shall be a complete examination, Specifically, whether the description of the trademark logo is accurate or not, Specifies whether the description of the good or service is normative, Whether the submitted evidence of use meets the requirements and other forms of review, And whether the trademark logo has distinctive features, Substantive examination on whether it is likely to be confused with the prior trademark.

　　If the examiner finds a failure to register, Non-final notice of dismissal will be issued (Nonfinal Office Action) . "Review guide" The first 710 The article clearly stipulates that the examiner shall specify the reason and basis of rejection in detail in the rejection notice, For the record, The applicant may file a review opinion accordingly. According to the newly implemented United States Trademark Modernization Act (Trademark Modernization Act) , Aim at 2022 years 12 month 3 New pre-registration rejection notice issued from date (Does not include Madrid designation of the United States application) , The legal time limit for submission of reexamination shall be from the original date when the notice of rejection is issued 6 month, Adjust to 3 month (Fee-able application 3 A month's extension) .

　　In addition, To facilitate examination, If the examiner decides that the trademark application can be approved by minor modification, "Review guide" Examiners are also encouraged by mail, Telephone and other means, Communicate with the applicant's attorney, By issuing the auditor's modified opinion (Examiner' s Amendment) , To improve the efficiency of the review. The examiner's modified opinion is usually confirmed by telephone or email from the applicant's attorney, There is no need for the applicant to submit a separate written reply. If there are no other questions, The examiner will announce the preliminary examination of the applied trademark after issuing the revised opinion.

　　According to "Review guide" The first 714 article, When a clear issue of dispute has been clearly developed between the examiner and the trademark applicant, But the censors still don't accept it, Final rejection may be issued (Final Office Action) . so-called "All the issues in dispute have been clearly laid out" , It means that the examiner has raised all outstanding disputes, And the applicant has responded to all outstanding disputes with the examiner. Against final rejection, The claimant's avenues of relief include:

　　 (1) To the Trademark Hearing and Appeal Board (TTAB) appeal (Appeal)

　　The applicant may do so from the date of the final notice of rejection 6 Within a month (As above, Adjust to 3 month) , to TTAB File the appeal request and pay the appeal fee. TTAB After acceptance, The trademark applicant and the original examiner will come first TTAB From the date of issuance of the notice 60 Submit an appeal within days. In addition, An appeal filed against the original examiner, Applicants may apply at 20 Supplementary comments to be submitted within days, And may apply for an oral hearing. TTAB It will be based on the appeal opinions and evidentiary materials submitted by both parties, Conduct a hearing and issue a decision on appeal. If the decision on appeal is not accepted, Both the trademark applicant and the original examiner shall have the right to issue the decision from the date of issuance 1 Within a month requirement TTAB To reconsider or rehear, Or file a lawsuit in court.

　　 (2) Apply to the original examiner for reconsideration (Request for Reconsideration)

　　The trademark applicant may, within the time limit for reexamination, Apply to the original examiner for reconsideration, By submitting written submissions and evidence, Or agree with the examiner's previous review opinion, To try to overcome the rejection. For example, The application for a trademark is based on Trademark Law No (2) e article "It is directly descriptive only" Issue a final rejection, Subject to meeting the requirements for a copy of the book, The applicant may ask the original examiner to reconsider, To convert the trademark application to a secondary register; If the application for a trademark is based on Trademark Law No (2) d article "And the prior trademark constitute the possibility of confusion" Issue a final rejection, The applicant may submit a co-existence agreement signed by the prior trademark owner, The original examiner was asked to reconsider the possibility of confusion on this basis. But here's the caveat, An application for reconsideration by the original examiner cannot be retained or extended against a final dismissal TTAB Time limit for filing an appeal, That is, if the original examiner is within the said period, The applicant's application for reconsideration was not accepted, And the trademark applicant has not submitted within the prescribed time limit TTAB appellate, The trademark application will be deemed abandoned and void.

　　Upon receipt of an application for reconsideration from the applicant, The original examiner will consider whether the applicant is to TTAB appeal, Distance direction TTAB Time left to file an appeal, And whether the applicant raised new claims or new evidence in the reconsideration of the application, How to determine further review. If the applicant also wishes to TTAB appellate, TTAB The appeal process will be put on hold, Pending a reconsideration decision by the original examiner.

　　In addition, If the applicant raises new claims or new evidence in the reconsideration of the application, However, the original examiner considers that the new claims or new evidence mentioned above are still insufficient to make the trademark application meet the registration requirements, Non-final notice of rejection will be issued again (Nonfinal Office Action) or "Subsequent notice of final dismissal" (Examiner' s Subsequent Final Refusal) , To renew the deadline for applicants to respond to new questions and new evidence, To protect the applicant's right to procedural relief.

　　 (3) To the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director general (Director) File a request (Petition to the Director)

　　Such relief generally applies only when the examiner has made a clear error in his examination or abused his discretion.

　　two, Special application (Special Applications)

　　Generally speaking, USPTO Trademarks will be examined in the chronological order in which they were received. On the basis of "Review guide" The first 702. 02 The relevant provisions of the, In the following two cases, Applicants may apply to USPTO An application or petition for a special hearing of a trademark, To expedite the review.

　　1. Application for special hearing (Request to Make Special) , That is, the applicant has registered the trademark for non-subjective reasons, Deregistration or lapse due to failure to timely submit a renewal or statement of use, The applicant may apply after submitting a new application, Application for special hearing. There is no additional fee for applying for special hearing, However, the new application must be made by the original trademark owner or assignee, And the new trademark sample must be completely consistent with the original trademark, Goods or services shall not exceed the scope of the original application.

　　2. Request for special hearing (Petition to Make Special) , The applicant has special and urgent reasons, A request for special hearing may be submitted to the Trademark Office, State specific factual reasons and provide corresponding proof, After paying the petition fees, Request that the Trademark Office expedite the review of the new application. The aforementioned request for special hearing will only be granted in very special circumstances, If the trademark application involves pending civil action or infringement risk, Or trademark registration is required to obtain the business approval of the United States government for specific goods or services.

　　three, The shelving of trademark applications (Suspension of Action)

　　 "Review guide" The first 716 Article provision, For a good cause, The examiner may suspend the hearing of a trademark application ex officio or on application. Common reasons for shelving include: (1) The prior obstacle trademark is under application, In revocation/Invalid program (Cancellation) On trial, Unilateral revocation of the procedure is to delete or re-examine the procedure (Expungement or Reexamination proceeding) On trial, That is, the indexing state is undetermined; (2) The country of origin application on which the trademark application is based has not yet been approved for registration; (3) exist TTAB A case pending in trial or court action, May affect the outcome of this case; (4) The deadline for filing the application for renewal or the declaration of use is approaching, There may be a failure risk; (5) The International Bureau in Madrid is in the process of correcting the trademark application, limit, Registration of transfer or other changes, May affect the outcome of this case. but, Under normal circumstances, The examiner will not agree based on "Give trademark applicants more time to obtain the co-existence agreement of the trademark owner with the prior obstacle" And put the trademark application on hold.

　　After the trademark application was put on hold, Examiner of legal documents (Legal Instruments Examiner) Status checks will be conducted regularly on pending cases, If the shelving cause has been eliminated, The examiner of legal documents will notify the examiner of the case to resume the proceedings. otherwise, Will continue to hold trademark applications. Of course, If the applicant finds it unreasonable to set aside the hearing, Submission of comments, Request to be removed from hold. If the examiner is based on Trademark Law No (2) d article "And the trademark in the prior application constitute the possibility of confusion" Where a trademark application is suspended, The trademark applicant may submit arguments and corresponding evidence, It is argued that there is no confusion similarity between the applied trademark and the prior trademark. After hearing the case, the examiner may decide to shelve the application or announce the initial examination of the trademark.

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