Q: I need to continue with my trademark registrations because it shows like this Status: 602 - Abandoned-Failure To Respond

A: A trademark application may show a status of abandoned for failure to respond to an office action correspondence from the USPTO. Depending on how long it has been since the notice of abandonment was sent, you may be able to file a Petition to Revive the application along with the required response. Consult with a trademark attorney to assist you with the petition and response to any applicable office action(s).

A: The status 602 abandonment is specifically for failure to respond to an office action. An office action is a rejection issued by the examiner assigned to your application. Sometimes the rejections identify major problems with your application, and other times the problems are relatively minor and can be fixed with a few changes. It would be a good idea to review the office action to figure out how difficult it might be to address the problems raised by the examiner. If the problems are major, you have to decide whether or not its worth it to spend the time to try and get around your abandonment. In other words, you may find that the office action set forth a problem that you couldn't have fixed even if you had responded on time.

In any event, you only have 60 days after the issuance of a notice of abandonment in which to try and revive your application, so this is an urgent matter now (if that 60 days hasn't already passed). Without being too critical, I should point out that an office action almost always allows you a full six months to respond. If you are just now noticing this abandonment, it means you probably haven't checked on the status of your application in at least that long. Understanding that people are busy, and checking on their slow-moving trademark application isn't always top of mind, it seems like hiring an attorney whom you pay to keep on top of these kinds of things for you would be a really good idea in your situation.

A: It depends on how long it has been abandoned. It is possible to revive if it has not been too long. I have revived several abandoned applications in the past, so if you would like some help, feel free to reach out!