If your trademark attorney recently applied for a trademark, you may have heard about something called a “notice of allowance.” But what exactly does this document mean for your trademark application?
First, it’s important to understand that a notice of allowance is only issued in certain circumstances. Specifically, it is issued if a §1(b) application (also known as an “intent-to-use” application) is published for opposition and is not successfully opposed. In other words, if someone else raises an objection to your trademark application, but the USPTO ultimately decides that your trademark can proceed, you will receive a notice of allowance.
So what happens after you receive a notice of allowance? The most important thing to know is that the notice of allowance establishes the due date for filing a statement of use. This statement is essentially a formal declaration that you are actually using the trademark in commerce. In most cases, you will have six months from the date of the notice of allowance to file your statement of use. If you fail to file the statement of use within this timeframe, your trademark application will be abandoned.
It’s worth noting that the USPTO does not publish any notification in the Trademark Official Gazette that a notice of allowance has been issued. This means that you will have to keep track of the deadline for filing your statement of use on your own.
If you believe that there are errors in the notice of allowance, or if you think that the notice of allowance was issued in error (for example, if you’ve already received approval for an amendment to allege use), it’s important to contact the ITU/Divisional Unit immediately. You can find the current telephone numbers for this unit on the USPTO website.
It’s also possible that you may have other bases for registering your trademark in addition to §1(b). In this case, the USPTO will publish the mark for opposition and will issue a notice of allowance if there is no successful opposition. However, the identification of goods, services, or the nature of the collective membership organization specified for all the bases will remain in the application until you file and receive approval for a statement of use for the goods/services/collective membership organization based on §1(b).
If you fail to file a timely statement of use or request for an extension of time to file a statement of use in response to a notice of allowance, your entire application will be abandoned. However, you may be able to revive your application if the delay in filing was unintentional. You can do this by filing a petition to revive, as long as you do so before the deadline for filing the statement of use has passed.
The notice of allowance is a key document in the trademark registration process. It establishes the due date for filing a statement of use, and it’s important to make sure that the information on the notice of allowance is accurate. If you have any questions or concerns about your notice of allowance, don’t hesitate to Trademark Attorney Matthew Tucker for guidance at 1-800-TUCKERWINS.
