T.M.E.P. § 1402.13
Requirement For Amendment of Portion of Identification of Goods/Services

Executive summary:

This document contains one section of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (the "TMEP"), Fourth Edition (April 2005). This page was last updated in June 2007. You may return to one either the section index, or to the key word index. If you wish to search the TMEP, simply use the search box that appears on the bottom of every page of BitLaw--be sure to restrict your search to the TMEP in the pop-up list.

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1402.13 Requirement For Amendment of Portion of Identification of Goods/Services

If a requirement for an amendment of the identification of goods/services is expressly limited to only certain goods/services, and the applicant fails to file a response to the refusal or requirement, the application shall be abandoned only as to those particular goods/services. 37 C.F.R. 2.65(a); TMEP §718.02(a).

Accordingly, when the identification of goods/services includes some terminology that is indefinite and some terminology that is acceptable, the examining attorney should specify which terminology is indefinite, suggest amended language if possible, and indicate that the rest of the identification is acceptable.

When an applicant fails to respond to a requirement to amend some terminology in an otherwise acceptable identification of goods/services, the examining attorney should issue an examiner's amendment that clearly sets forth the changes that will be made to the identification of goods/services. No prior authorization from the applicant or the applicant's attorney is needed to issue an examiner's amendment in this situation.