305.02 No Combined Complaint
A party may not file a single pleading combining a notice of opposition to one or more applications, and a petition to cancel one or more registrations owned by the same defendant. [ Note 1.]
Filing by ESTTA is required, and no ESTTA form exists for such a combined complaint. [ Note 2.] However, to achieve a comparable result a filer may separately electronically file a notice of opposition and a petition for cancellation and simultaneously request consolidation. [ Note 3.] To facilitate proper handling, the motion for consolidation in this situation should be included in the same filing with the petition for cancellation, for which the institution order is reviewed by Board personnel rather than automatically instituted and sent, as with most oppositions. The attached pleading should include a prominent reference to the motion to consolidate. This procedure will help bring the requested consolidation to the Board’s attention more promptly when the notice of institution for the petition to cancel is reviewed. Alternatively, the filer may move for consolidation in a separate, subsequent filing. For information concerning motions to consolidate proceedings, see TBMP § 511. Once consolidated, the opposition is treated as the "parent" case, and both proceeding numbers are placed on all documents relating to the combined proceedings. Cf. TBMP § 511.
NOTES:
1. MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES OF PRACTICE, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69953 (October 7, 2016).
2. MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES OF PRACTICE, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69953 (October 7, 2016). ("… no exception to the requirement to file by ESTTA will be made for a combined filing, and prior case law allowing for this type of combined notice of opposition and petition for cancellation is superseded by the mandatory online filing requirement.").
3. MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES OF PRACTICE, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69953 (October 7, 2016).