CTA Lands 2nd Deadline Extension for Application to Trademark OTC Hearing-Aid Logo

The Patent and Trademark Office granted CTA its second deadline extension to file a statement of use (SOU) in its June 2018 application to trademark a certification logo for over-the-counter hearing aids (see 1806250018), agency records show. CTA created the logo to identify reputable OTC hearing aids for consumers with mild or moderate hearing loss that meet minimum performance specs in the ANSI/CTA-2051 standard approved in January 2017. PTO requires SOUs to prevent applicants from hoarding trademarks with no intention of using them in normal commerce. CTA is hamstrung from filing the SOU because it needs to await the FDA’s expected release by late summer of proposed rules establishing the OTC hearing-aid category under legislation President Donald Trump signed into law in August 2017 (see 2001170050). A trademark applicant is entitled to up to five SOU deadline extensions of six months each, but must file the SOU within three years after receiving PTO's notice of allowance (NOA) that clears the application for final approval. PTO issued CTA its hearing-aid NOA a year ago Wednesday.