Abandoned Applications

• Abandoned for Failure to Respond to Office Action
• Abandoned for Failure to File a Statement of Use
• Abandoned for Incomplete Response

Abandoned for Failure to Respond to Office Action

Abandoned means that the application is no longer pending and, thus, cannot mature into registration. During the pendency of an application, an examining attorney will issue an Office action letter to the correspondence address of record. A response to that letter must be received in the USPTO within six (6) months from the mailing date of that letter. If the Office does not receive a response within this period, the application is declared abandoned. The Office will then mail a notice of abandonment to the applicant or the applicant's attorney.

File Petition to Revive Online

Applicant may electronically file through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) a petition to revive the abandoned application (return the application to active status) if the delay in responding the Office action letter was unintentional. The form provides step-by-step instructions for filing the petition.

A Petition to Revive includes a signed statement by someone with first hand knowledge of the facts stating that the delay in responding was unintentional, a $100 petition fee and a response to the unanswered office action letter. The Petition to Revive MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE OFFICE WITHIN TWO (2) MONTHS FROM THE MAILING DATE ON THE NOTICE OF ABANDONMENT. A Petition that is not timely filed will be denied.

If a response was not filed because the applicant did not receive the Office action, the applicant must still file a Petition in order to revive the application. The applicant need not include a response to the Office action.

Request for Reinstatement

If the abandonment resulted from the Office mailing the office action letter to the wrong address, the Office will reinstate the application at no cost. A Request for Reinstatement may be faxed to (571) 273-8950. A REQUEST FOR REINSTATEMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN TWO (2) MONTHS FROM THE ISSUE DATE OF THE NOTICE OF ABANDONMENT. A REQUEST FOR REINSTATEMENT THAT IS NOT TIMELY FILED WILL BE DENIED.

If a timely response was received in the Office, yet the application was declared abandoned, the applicant may request reinstatement of the application, provided they can submit proof of receipt in the Office. Click on "proof" for a listing of acceptable forms of proof of receipt in the Office.