CTA Gets 3rd PTO OTC Hearing Aid Logo Delay; FDA OTC Rules Due Aug. 18

The Patent and Trademark Office granted CTA its third deadline extension Saturday to file the required statement of use (SOU) that would close out 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. The devices can earn the logo by meeting minimum voluntary performance criteria in the ANSI/CTA-2051 standard approved in January 2017. PTO requires SOUs to prevent applicants from intentionally hoarding trademarks they have no plans to deploy commercially. CTA is hamstrung from filing the SOU because it awaits federal regulations establishing the OTC hearing-aid category under the 2017 FDA Reauthorization Act (see 2001170050). The law requires the FDA to publish proposed rules for comment by Aug. 18, three years from when President Donald Trump signed the measure. It directs the agency to publish final rules no more than 180 days after the comment period closes. The FDA didn’t respond to questions Monday about the release date of the proposed rules. A PTO trademark applicant is entitled to up to five SOU deadline extensions of six months each but must file it within three years after receiving the agency's notice of allowance, clearing the application for final approval. The CTA SOU for OTC hearing aids is due Jan. 29, 2022.