1503.04 Extension of Time to Oppose
Requests for extensions of time to oppose are handled by the Board. See TBMP Chapter 200.
A request for an extension of time must be filed within thirty days after the date of publication in the Official Gazette , or within an extension period granted by the Board. 15 U.S.C. §1063(a); 37 C.F.R. §2.102(c); TBMP §§202 et seq . The time within which to file a request for extension of time to oppose is set by statute and may not be extended or waived. In re Kabushiki Kaisha Hitachi Seisakusho , 33 USPQ2d 1477 (Comm'r Pats. 1994 ); In re Cooper , 209 USPQ 670 (Comm’r Pats. 1980).
A request for extension of time to oppose an application based on §1 or §44 of the Trademark Act may be filed either on paper or through ESTTA, at http://estta.uspto.gov/ . 37 C.F.R. §2.102(a)(1). A request for extension of time to oppose a §66(a) application must be filed through ESTTA. 37 C.F.R. §2.102(a)(2). See In re Börlind Gesellschaft für kosmetische Erzeugnisse mbH , 73 USPQ2d 2019 (TTAB 2005).
For additional information regarding filing a request for an extension of time to oppose, see TBMP Chapters 200 and 300.
When a registration is issued, inadvertently, from an application that was the subject of an unexpired extension of time to oppose on the date of registration, the Board is without authority to cancel the registration and restore it to application status. See TBMP §216. In this situation, a request to have the registration cancelled as inadvertently issued should be directed to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy. See TMEP §1609.10(a) regarding correction of USPTO errors.