What is an office action?
An office action is a refusal or rejection that the USPTO issues in the form of a letter if it thinks there’s a problem with your trademark application.
What is the difference between a minor office action and a major office action?
A minor office action is issued by the examining attorney at the USPTO when the submitted trademark application contains minor errors such as typographical errors or improperly formatted documents.
A major office action is issued by the examining attorney at the USPTO when the submitted trademark application contains major errors, resulting in registration refusals that will require extensive research and legal arguments to overcome. If the examining attorney at the USPTO determines there is a conflict between the trademark you applied for and a trademark that is either registered or pending in the USPTO because the marks are similar in sound, appearance, or meaning, he or she will refuse or reject your mark for likelihood of confusion in the form of a major office action.
How much will you charge to respond to an office action?
If you had us file the application originally, we will respond to all minor office actions for free, whether you picked the Standard Package or the Premium Package.
If you had us file the application originally and you picked the Premium Package, we will respond to all major office actions for free.
If, however, we’re taking over an application you filed on your own or through another law firm or filing service, our firm charges a fixed price of $699 to draft and file a response to a major office action, which includes conducting research, drafting, and filing any legal argument that might be needed to overturn the major office action. This price applies if you had us file the application originally but you picked the Standard Package instead of the Premium Package.
When is the deadline to respond to an office action?
File a response correcting any technical defects and arguing against any substantive refusals within six months of the date of the Office Action. If the response is not timely submitted, the USPTO deems the application abandoned.
However, beginning December 1st, 2022, the Office Action response deadline will be three months for most Office Actions. The deadline can be extended for three months by paying a fee.