USPTO Makes Consistency Initiative Program Permanent | Practical Law

USPTO Makes Consistency Initiative Program Permanent | Practical Law

The USPTO announced it has made the Consistency Initiative Pilot Program permanent. The program serves as an instrument for applicants to raise concerns about inconsistent practice within the USPTO.

USPTO Makes Consistency Initiative Program Permanent

Practical Law Legal Update 0-522-8578 (Approx. 3 pages)

USPTO Makes Consistency Initiative Program Permanent

by PLC Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 04 Dec 2012 • USA (National/Federal)
The USPTO announced it has made the Consistency Initiative Pilot Program permanent. The program serves as an instrument for applicants to raise concerns about inconsistent practice within the USPTO.
On December 4, 2012, the USPTO announced that it made the trademark application Consistency Initiative Pilot Program permanent. The program gives a trademark applicant a way to raise concerns about inconsistencies in the USPTO's treatment of the applicant's co-pending applications, or pending application and recent registration, under certain circumstances.
The USPTO adopted separate sets of guidelines for requests addressing allegedly inconsistent treatment of:
  • Identifications of goods and services.
  • All other substantive and procedural issues.
All review requests must:
  • Describe the alleged inconsistent action.
  • List the applications, and any registrations, involved.
  • Clearly mark at the top of the page the nature of the request.
Applicants must send requests to [email protected]. All requests will be scanned into the USPTO database and made available to the public through Trademark Status and Document Retrieval System.