Allison Strickland Ricketts was quoted in Law360 on the USPTO’s recent decision to shorten the period of time to respond to office actions relating to trademark applications from six months to three months, effective December 3, 2022.
The former six-month deadline was established when the Lanham Act took effect in the 1940s. Allison tells Law360, “with faster means of communications today, the ‘shortened time frame makes sense from that standpoint.'”
The final rule, published Thursday, October 13th, is as follows:
Pre-Registration
Effective December 3, 2022, there will be a three-month deadline to respond to Office actions for applications under Sections 1 and 44. It will be possible to obtain a three-month extension by filing a request and paying a fee before the end of the initial three-month deadline.
Applications under Section 66 (Madrid Protocol extensions) are not affected and there will continue to be a six-month deadline to respond to these Office actions.
Post-Registration
Effective October 7, 2023, the three-month deadline plus extension-with-a-fee will take effect for post-registration Office actions.
Read more here: https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1539412/uspto-cuts-time-to-respond-to-tm-office-actions-in-half