T.M.E.P. § 1715.05
Approval of Applications for Publication or Issue After Grant of a Letter of Protest

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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1715.05 Approval of Applications for Publication or Issue After Grant of a Letter of Protest

If the Administrator grants a letter of protest, the examining attorney will issue a requirement or refusal consistent with the Administrator's action, except in unusual circumstances. However, granting a letter of protest does not constitute a binding determination by the Administrator as to the merits. In some circumstances, the examining attorney may discover additional evidence that would justify approval of the application after the grant of a letter of protest, or the applicant may overcome the refusal or satisfy the requirement. If the Administrator grants a letter of protest and the examining attorney later determines that the mark should be approved for publication, republication or issue, the Administrator must approve the examining attorney's approval of the application for publication, republication or issue. Due to the possibility that the application may be approved for publication, republication or issue, protestors should continue to monitor the status of the application being protested so that they may take appropriate action (such as filing a notice of opposition) if the refusal or requirement raised as a result of the letter of protest is successfully overcome by the applicant.