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Do Your Due Diligence

Written by: Shannon Moore

Article Overview: Once your Federal trademark application is filed, it's on you, the applicant, to keep an eye on your status, any emails & any requests from the USPTO. Failure to do so could result in your application becoming canceled, so this is important.

Do Your Due Diligence

Here's what the USPTO says:

"Trademark applicants and registrants should monitor the status of their applications or registrations in cases where a notice or action from the USPTO is expected. Inquiries regarding the status of pending matters should be made during the following time periods:

(1) During the pendency of an application, an applicant should check the status of the application every six months between the filing date of the application and issuance of a registration; and
(2) After filing an affidavit of use or excusable nonuse under §8 or §71 of the Trademark Act, or a renewal application under §9 of the Act, a registrant should check the status of the registration every six months until the registrant receives notice that the affidavit or renewal application has been accepted."

I respectfully disagree with the USPTO's assertion to check your status every 6 months. While the entire registration process can be poky, it's better to stay more on top of your filing. I'd recommend checking your status every two weeks to one month. This way if the USPTO had, for instance, sent you an Office Action that needed a response, you'll have plenty of time to deal with it.

To check your status, go here: http://tarr.uspto.gov/ and enter your Serial Number. Near the top of the page, you'll see your Status. Scroll down a bit to read the latest update to your Prosecution History.

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Article Tags: affidavit, assertion, inquiries, issuance, pendency, prosecution history, registrant, registrants, registrations, renewal application, serial number, six months, time periods, trademark act, trademark applicants, uspto



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