Permitting the Filing of a Trademark Letter of Protest: What are the Grounds?

Letters of Protest that are aggressive and intended solely to create conflict will be immediately rejected, as will those that are clearly filed as a strategy to delay the registration process. Letters of protest must contain evidence based on facts and should be unbiased and objective.

Here are some common reasons why one might file a letter of protest with the USPTO:

1. The trademark being applied for is descriptive or generic. This objection must be supported by evidence that clearly proves that the mark is indeed descriptive or generic.

2. A third party believes that the trademark being applied for is too similar to an existing trademark and could lead to confusion (referred to as a 2(d), Likelihood of Confusion rejection).

3. The trademark applicant is currently involved in a trademark infringement lawsuit, and a third party requests that the application be put on hold until the litigation is resolved.

It is important to file a letter of protest before the trademark application is reviewed by the examining attorney and published in the Official Gazette. There may be exceptions to this rule if the objector did not have timely access to relevant information, but it is crucial to meet the timing requirements.