In this post, Michael Leonard of the MARQUES International Trade Mark Law and Practice Team provides an update on trade mark developments in the United States.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that effective 3 December 2022, the term for responding to the majority of trade mark Office Actions will be reduced from six months to three months.

One three-month extension of time will be available with the payment of a $125 fee. The time period for responding to post-registration Office Actions will be reduced to three months as well, effective 7 October 2023.

It is important for readers to note, however, that the time for responding to Office Actions for Madrid Protocol Designations has not changed and will remain six months.

The USPTO’s rationale for the change is to lessen the amount of time it will take for an application to progress to registration.

Given that the current time frame for the USPTO to examine new applications has reached eight to nine months, it remains to be seen whether the reduction of the Office Action Response period to three months will really serve to move applications forward to registration more quickly.

By Michael Leonard, Fox Rothschild LLP, who is a member of the International Trade Mark Law and Practice Team