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<p>Hello to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:teas@uspto.gov">teas@uspto.gov</a>.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Here we have a report that a practitioner who files a new US
trademark application will duly answer the TC questions such as
"is this the name or likeness of an individual?" or "does this
mark mean something in a foreign language?" with the answer "no".
But TC does not memorialize those "no" answers. Then the Office
Action arrives and the practitioner is dinged for the
"insufficient information" penalty for supposedly having failed to
answer one or both of those questions.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>As the listserv member notes, it is actually impossible to click
through the TC click flow without answering "yes" or "no" to each
of these questions. So when the Examining Attorney imposes this
fee, the practitioner can try to point out to the EA that the
practitioner must have already answered the question (with a "no")
given that it is impossible to click to "submit" without having
answered the question. But the EA seems to think that since the
"no" answer is not memorialized in the application as filed, then
it didn't happen.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>So it looks like because of this situation that TC fails to
memorialize the "no" answers, the practitioner who is now sadder
but wiser will know to do something like capturing a screen shot
of the "no" answers and pasting it into a miscellaneous statement.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>The miscellaneous statement of course makes extra work for the
Examining Attorney, and it also makes extra work for the
practitioner.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>So if we can please memorialize the "no" answers, that would be
helpful.</p>
<p><br>
Carl Oppedahl</p>
<p>Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC</p>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">Subject:
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<td>[E-trademarks] translation statements, statements
regarding living individuals</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">Date: </th>
<td>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 19:00:53 +0000</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">From: </th>
<td>Russell Nugent via E-trademarks
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com"><e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com></a></td>
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<td>For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons
to seek legal advice.
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com"><e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com></a></td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:e-trademarks-bounces@oppedahl-lists.com">e-trademarks-bounces@oppedahl-lists.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com"><e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com></a></td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">CC: </th>
<td>Russell Nugent <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nugent@comprisingip.com"><nugent@comprisingip.com></a></td>
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The new system does not display a negative response to the
questions about whether the mark has a translation or is the
name of an individual, but the applications cannot be filed
without these statements being made. I have received two office
actions in the past week from Examiners that may not know (or
care) that the system works that way and are requiring me to
provide that information again and pay a surcharge. </div>
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Are the rest of you entering these statements as miscellaneous
statements or doing something else to avoid this issue? Has
anyone else gotten a lot of office actions like this?</div>
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Russell D. Nugent</div>
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Comprising IP</div>
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1213 Culbreth Dr, Ste 112</div>
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Wilmington, NC 28405</div>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nugent@comprisingip.com">nugent@comprisingip.com</a> (private)</div>
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910-550-3259 (private)</div>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:contact@comprisingip.com">contact@comprisingip.com</a></div>
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910-509-7131</div>
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