Office action · Examiner's objection · Provisional refusal
An office action, or examiner's objection. Isn't a rejection. It's an invitation to respond. An attorney reads the grounds, drafts the response, and files it inside your deadline, at any of 100+ trademark offices worldwide.
Your deadline is firm: USPTO gives 3 months, EUIPO and UKIPO 2 months, IPIndia 1 month, CNIPA 15 days. Send it over for a free case review.
Responses start from $150, a flat fee quoted after a free triage.
Grounds read
At any registry
Response drafted
You approve first
Filed in your window
100+ offices, one team
Trusted by founders and brands worldwide
How it works
Send us the office action or examiner's objection, your application or serial number, and the issuing country. We read the cited grounds, tell you the response approach, and quote a flat fee before any work begins. Even if GTC didn't file the original application.
Once you engage us, your attorney drafts the response and shares it for your review and approval before filing. You see every argument before it goes to the registry, no surprises.
We file via the registry portal well inside your response window and track the examiner's reply. One round of back-and-forth is included; if a further substantive response is needed, we quote it upfront.
What you're up against
When a trademark examiner reviews your application, they may issue a written objection citing prior conflicting marks, descriptiveness, lack of distinctiveness, or a formality issue. It's a request for clarification or legal argument, not the end of the road. The right strategy depends entirely on which family the refusal falls into.
Usually cleared with a precise reply
Minor technical problems that are typically straightforward to resolve. A precise, on-time response usually clears them and the application proceeds toward registration.
Quoted upfront per matter
Legal objections requiring attorney argument and evidence. These turn on argumentation and an evidence package. We scope the response and quote it before any drafting begins.
One concept, many names
Every registry has its own term for the examiner's letter. Whatever yours is called, it means the examiner identified issues that must be resolved before your mark can register. We respond to all of them.
What your office calls it
USPTO (United States)
UKIPO (United Kingdom)
CIPO (Canada)
WIPO (Madrid Protocol)
EUIPO (European Union)Response deadline by jurisdiction
US (USPTO)EU (EUIPO)UK (UKIPO)Canada (CIPO)
India (IPIndia)
China (CNIPA)
Japan (JPO)
Korea (KIPO)
Australia (IP Australia)Deadlines as of the latest content review, and most are unforgiving. Miss the window and the application is typically abandoned. If yours is approaching, contact us immediately.
What it costs
Procedural responses are the most straightforward; substantive refusals are quoted in writing before any work begins, never billed by surprise. Government fees for filing the response are usually zero (US, EU, UK); any office fee is passed through at cost.
Responses start from $150. The exact fee depends on the registry and the refusal type.
What the response includes
Response fees vary by refusal type and registry. We quote the response in writing before any work begins. Government fees, if any, are passed through at cost.
Start your response
Send us the office action (or examiner's objection), your application or serial number, and the issuing country, a GTC attorney will triage it and email a flat-fee quote.
Why GTC
Send us the refusal and an attorney reads the grounds, confirms the issues, and quotes a flat fee, before any work or payment.
A qualified attorney drafts the statutory response to the cited grounds, and you approve every argument before it is filed.
We diarise the issuing registry's response window and file inside it, so your deadline is never left to chance.
Whatever the refusal is called and wherever it was issued, the same team answers it, across every registry your brand reaches.
Your Customer Success Team
Every GTC client gets a dedicated Account Manager and a Senior Account Manager who learn your business and stay with you from first email to final filing. They are named people who pick up the phone and already know your matter, so every step moves forward without delay.
Your day-to-day point of contact, who coordinates every matter, keeps things moving, and already knows your file. They have your full history, so you start every conversation where the last one left off.
Senior oversight on strategy and escalations, stepping in as your needs grow, so every important detail stays on track.
A named person, on email or a call, at every step.
How we compare
| What you get | GTC | Online filing services | Doing it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| An attorney reads the refusal and confirms the grounds | |||
| Response drafted to the office's rules and filed in your window | |||
| A flat fee quoted before any drafting | |||
| Both procedural and substantive refusals handled | |||
| One team for office actions across 100+ offices | |||
| Government response fees passed through at cost |
An attorney reads the refusal and confirms the grounds
Response drafted to the office's rules and filed in your window
A flat fee quoted before any drafting
Both procedural and substantive refusals handled
One team for office actions across 100+ offices
Government response fees passed through at cost
The timeline
An office action runs on a fixed clock that varies by registry. Here is what to expect once you send it over.
The registry issues the refusal and your response clock starts, and it varies sharply by office (see the deadline table above).
Send it over, an attorney identifies the cited grounds and quotes the response in writing before any work begins.
We draft the argumentation, you approve it, and we file through the issuing registry's portal. Well before the deadline.
We monitor the examiner's response; one round of standard back-and-forth is included.
In their words
I've had the pleasure of working with Rajat for many years. He has expertly guided me through the process of registering my company in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and more. His deep knowledge of trademark law across jurisdictions is impressive.
Darius Tay, ID
ExcellentTrustpilotOffice action response FAQ
Know your registry?
If your office action came from the USPTO, EUIPO, UKIPO, IPIndia, or CNIPA, our registry-specific guides cover the exact grounds, response strategy, and fee for that office.
Facing an opposition rather than an examiner's refusal? See trademark opposition defense.
Got an office action and a tight deadline?
Book a free triage call and a trademark attorney reads the grounds, recommends a response strategy, and quotes a flat fee before any work begins, no obligation. In a hurry? Send it straight over above.
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