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Hi, no opinions or even any thoughts about whether a specimen of a stylized word mark that shows the letter \u201co\u201d as a smiley face, instead of the original letter \u201co,\u201d will result in a rejection on the ground of material alteration?</div>
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<p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Jessica R. Friedman</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Attorney at Law</span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">New York, NY 10022</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Phone: 212-220-0900</span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">E-mail:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: blue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="mailto:jrfriedman@litproplaw.com" title="mailto:jrfriedman@litproplaw.com" data-outlook-id="1e97e3dc-fbad-4749-8ef7-69f843c96e8c" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">jrfriedman@litproplaw.com</a></u></span></p>
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="http://www.literarypropertylaw.com" title="http://www.literarypropertylaw.com" data-outlook-id="368900db-fa93-411d-9f26-3ead78aa05b2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">www.literarypropertylaw.com</a></u></span></p>
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<b>From: </b>Jessica R. Friedman <jrfriedman@litproplaw.com><br>
<b>Date: </b>Thursday, October 16, 2025 at 10:53\u202fAM<br>
<b>To: </b>For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks@oppedahl-lists.com><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Changing "o" to smiley face in design mark: material alteration?<br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(10, 47, 65);">Client filed an ITU application (on its own) to register a stylized version of a word with the letter \u201co\u201d in it. But on the actual packaging, Client substituted a smiley face for the letter
\u201co.\u201d So any specimen will have the smiley face.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(10, 47, 65);"> </span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(10, 47, 65);">I\u2019m concerned that this is a material alteration that will result in rejection of the specimen (since the PTO did not search for marks with smiley faces). Has anyone dealt with this particular
problem?</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Jessica R. Friedman</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Attorney at Law</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">300 East 59 Street, Ste. 2406</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">New York, NY 10022</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Phone: 212-220-0900</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">Cell: 917-647-1884</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">E-mail:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: blue;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="mailto:jrfriedman@litproplaw.com" title="mailto:jrfriedman@litproplaw.com" data-outlook-id="e0e64c4b-0998-4733-b394-fcfec0033d78" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">jrfriedman@litproplaw.com</a></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102);">URL:
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="http://www.literarypropertylaw.com" title="http://www.literarypropertylaw.com" data-outlook-id="ddde4216-d288-4f44-b4c6-f434fae97ce0" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">www.literarypropertylaw.com</a></u></span></p>
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