Answer the USPTO before the clock runs out.
An Office Action is a letter from the USPTO examining attorney raising a problem with your application. You have three months to answer, and one three-month extension is available for a $125 USPTO fee.
Miss the deadline and the application is abandoned. We answer Office Actions on any application, including ones you filed yourself or through a filing service.
Which one did you get?
We read the letter, tell you which kind it is, and quote the fee in writing.
A requirement to fix
The examiner wants something changed or clarified. No legal argument is needed.
- Disclaim a generic word
- Fix or narrow the description of goods and services
- Describe the logo or clarify the owner
A refusal to argue
The examiner refused the mark itself. Answering takes a written legal argument with evidence.
- Likelihood of confusion with another mark
- Merely descriptive
- Specimen doesn’t show use as a brand
Already a Grove client? Procedural responses are included. Harvest clients have substantive responses included too.
Four steps, done by email
No call required. You’ll know the fee before anything starts.
- 01
Send the letter
Email us your serial number or the Office Action itself.
- 02
Get a flat fee
We read it, tell you what kind it is, and quote the fee in writing.
- 03
Sign and pay
We become your attorney of record with the USPTO.
- 04
Review and file
You read the response before we file it, well ahead of the deadline.
We can step in
Many of the Office Actions we see come from applications filed alone or through a filing service. That’s fine.
Your application stays yours
Nothing restarts. We take over the application where it is and answer the letter on file.
Some mistakes can’t be fixed
A wrong owner, or goods described too narrowly, can’t be corrected by amendment. If that’s what we find, we’ll tell you, and what a new filing would take.
Final Office Actions
If the letter says final, you can still ask the examiner to reconsider. An appeal goes to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which we don’t handle. We’ll tell you early if that’s where it’s heading.
Office Action questions
How long do I have to respond?
Three months from the date the Office Action was issued. One three-month extension is available for a $125 USPTO fee.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
The application is abandoned. In some cases you can petition to revive it within two months of the notice of abandonment, if the delay was unintentional.
Is an Office Action a rejection?
Not yet. Many Office Actions are fixable requirements, and even refusals can be overcome with the right argument and evidence.
Can you tell me my chances before I pay?
We’ll tell you what kind of letter it is and what answering it involves before you pay. We don’t promise outcomes.
I have a Grove or Harvest package. Do I pay again?
No. Grove covers procedural responses, and Harvest covers substantive ones too. Grove clients get a written quote before any substantive response.
Do I need to get on a call?
No. Everything can happen by email.
Go deeper on The Zest.
Got a letter? Send it over.
We’ll tell you what it means and what it costs to answer, in writing.