From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property

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What to expect after filing

What to expect after filing

From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property

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What to expect after filing

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- What to expect after filing. So what happens after you file a trademark application? Well, nothing immediately. The trademark office takes up to six months to finish examining the application. In many cases, what you'll get isn't a registration. You'll actually get an office action. This is a preliminary rejection from the trademark office, either asking for clarification about something, maybe the goods that you described. Some office actions are just a preliminary refusal that you can easily resolve. Other refusals are substantial. In some cases, the USPTO will refuse registration on the basis that they feel your market's generic or descriptive. You or an attorney can make arguments to try to overcome this kind of refusal. A refusal might cite a trademark that was prior to yours and say, "We won't give you a registration "because of this prior registration." In that case, you have six months to respond to that. It can be difficult to overcome a refusal based on prior trademarks…

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