Trademark Office Action Response
(Likelihood of Confusion)


Summary

This trademark office action response template can be used by a trademark applicant to respond to an office action refusing registration of a proposed mark based upon likelihood of confusion in view of a prior registered mark. See 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d). This form includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and optional clauses. This response assumes that the applied-for mark (1) is a standard character word mark, (2) for goods, (3) is in use, and (4) the cited registrant's use predates your client's first use of its mark. If your client's mark is in special form, involves services, has not been used, or involves additional grounds for refusal, revise this response accordingly. If your client's first use of its mark predates registrant's first use of its mark, you may want to explore cancellation of the conflicting registration or negotiating a coexistence and consent to registration agreement with the registered user. For further background on responding to a USPTO Section 2(d) claim of...