[E-trademarks] Mark not examined in over three years: OR Franz Kafka's Secret Trademark Office

[Rachael Dickson]

In my own research, I've noticed a number of instances in which
applications to register trademarks with delta-8 THC goods are essentially
ignored for years. For example, 90860917, 97163486, and 97081820 were all
filed in 2021 and have yet to be examined, ~3 years later.

While I understand the USPTO may want to avoid the "is delta-8 THC
federally lawful or not?" debate, I don't believe they have the right to
completely ignore the applications they don't want to deal with for years
on end. And as far as I know, there's nothing that can be done to make them
actually examine an application, which seems incredibly unjust.

Also - going back to the question about whether TAC's saying they couldn't
discuss an application/registration with a third party might be boilerplate
or an indication that there's something they don't want to talk about. This
has been standard USPTO practice for years - TMEP 1806: "An examining
attorney or other USPTO employee may not discuss the merits of any
particular application or registration with a third party."

Rachael Dickson (she/her)
Trademark Attorney, Catalytic Law
Rachael at Catalyticlaw.com
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