1104.09 Acceptance of Amendment to Allege Use that Meets Minimum Filing Requirements by Examining Attorney
At the outset, the examining attorney must accept the submission of the amendment to allege use if it is timely filed and meets the minimum filing requirements, unless USPTO records show title in a party other than the party filing the amendment to allege use or the applicant specifies an intention to retain goods/services not yet in use and does not file a request to divide. See TMEP §§1104.01, 1104.03–1104.03(c), 1104.10(b)(i), and 1104.10(b)(ii). Acceptance of the amendment to allege use does not signify that all the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§2.76(b) and (c) for a complete amendment to allege have been met and the application is in condition for approval for publication.
The examining attorney must accept the amendment to allege use to ensure that (1) a computer-generated notice advising the applicant that the amendment to allege use has been accepted and forwarded to the examining attorney for substantive review is issued and (2) the basis of the application is changed from §1(b) to §1(a). Thus, even if the amendment to allege use raises issues related to, for example, the dates of use, inconsistencies between the mark on the drawing and the mark on the specimen, ornamentation, or descriptiveness, the examining attorney must accept it before issuing an Office action that addresses the relevant refusals or requirements.
See TMEP §§1104.10–1104.10(b)(vii) regarding examination of an amendment to allege use for compliance with statutory requirements.