1904.03(c) §66(a) Applicant Must Respond to Notification of Provisional Refusal
A holder of an international registration who applies for an extension of protection to the United States (also known as the §66(a) applicant) will receive an initial notification of refusal through the IB. The holder must respond directly to the USPTO, not the IB. Standard examination procedures are used to examine §66(a) applications. 15 U.S.C. §1141h.
See TMEP §1904.02(h) regarding Office actions and responses in §66(a) applications and §1904.02(i) regarding who can correspond with the USPTO in a §66(a) application.