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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">FWIW:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I doubt that your argument would overcome the refusal. “Suspicion” ain’t enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It might, however, support a request for suspension while you ask the USPTO to investigate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">JLW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif">John L. Welch<span style="color:#0E74AE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Senior Counsel</span></b><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#243745"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#243745">Admitted to Practice:</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><a href="mailto:jwelch@WolfGreenfield.com"><span style="color:blue">jwelch</span><span lang="FR-CA" style="color:blue">@WolfGreenfield.com</span></a></span><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E74AE"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#243745;text-transform:uppercase">Tel. 617.646.8285</span><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://thettablog.blogspot.com/"><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:windowtext;mso-ligatures:none;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="64" height="18" style="width:.6666in;height:.1875in" id="Picture_x0020_10" src="cid:image003.jpg@01DC27C8.A20373F0"></span></a><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#0E74AE">Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#243745">BOSTON | NEW YORK | WASHINGTON DC</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#243745"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0E74AE"><a href="https://www.wolfgreenfield.com/"><span style="color:#0E74AE">wolfgreenfield.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"FreightSans Pro Medium";color:#0E74AE">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces@oppedahl-lists.com>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Katherine Markert via E-trademarks<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, September 17, 2025 10:45 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Katherine Markert <km@markertcominolli.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [E-trademarks] Question regarding Third-Party Registration Evidence<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Hi All,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I have an Office Action where the Examining Attorney bolstered their 2(d) refusals through citation to third-party registrations to show the related nature of the applicant’s goods/services to the goods/services
of the cited blocking registrations. The third-party registrations have suspicious markers that raise questions regarding the validity of such third-party registrations. Some of those suspicious markers include registrations with an AOR with 10,000+ active
registrations but isn’t an IP attorney (coupled with many CAR filings updating email addresses to unusual email addresses), registration with an AOR disciplined for USPTO ethical violations, AOR lists an email address that corresponds to a known filing entity
that the USPTO has previously identified as engaging in improper filings, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Question: has anyone successfully argued in the OA Response that the third-party registration evidence does not support the argument for which it was proffered on the basis that such third-party registrations
are, well, suspicious (for the reasons described above). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The USPTO also has this guidance material, and some of the third-party registrations raise flags that align with this guidance:
<a href="https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/protect/challenge-invalid-specimens">Third parties can challenge applications or registrations with invalid specimens from e-commerce specimen farm websites | USPTO</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Thanks!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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