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What happens if I receive a "likelihood of confusion" refusal?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

If you receive an office action based on your mark’s likelihood of confusion, your application is paused until you successfully respond to the OA. In this situation, the examiner has identified an earlier mark that is considered confusingly similar, and they deem that your application can’t proceed to publication until the issue is resolved or the response deadline passes.

The applicant has a set window (three months in the US, extendable to six) to respond. The response can argue against the finding, narrow the goods and services, or submit a consent agreement from the owner of the cited mark. If the response satisfies the examiner, the application resumes. If not, a final office action follows.

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