Last week the USPTO announced a measure to improve trademark quality by providing a mechanism for trademark applicants to alert the trademark office as to potential inconsistencies among the applicant’s trademark portfolio. This new procedure begins with the submission of a Request for Consistency Review, when, according to the USPTO announcement (link below), “a substantive or procedural issue (excluding any issues involving identifications of goods and services) has been addressed in a significantly different manner in different cases, subject to the following provisions: (1) the request is based on co-pending applications or an application and a registration owned by the same legal entity or a successor in interest (e.g., assignee); (2) the registration(s) involved was issued less than one year prior to the date of the request; (3) at least one of the applications in the request is in a pre-publication status at the time of the request; and (4) the allegedly inconsistent treatment has already occurred.” It is specifically noted that this mechanism is only available to the trademark applicants and not to any third-parties. Additional information regarding this new initiative is provided in the link below, including details on the specific steps an applicant must take to utilize this new program.

USPTO Announcement: LINK