Trademark Status 'Objected': How Many Days to File a Reply?

Short answer: "Objected" means the Examiner has raised at least one legal ground against your trademark in a formal Examination Report. Your application is still alive — you have 30 days from the report date to file a written reply. Missing this deadline risks the application being treated as abandoned.

What Does 'Objected' Actually Mean?

It does not mean your trademark has been refused. It means the Examiner has identified a specific issue — usually under Section 9 (something about the mark itself, e.g. it's descriptive or non-distinctive) or Section 11 (a conflict with an existing mark) — that you need to address in writing before the application can move forward to advertisement.

How Many Days Do You Have to Reply?

30 days from the date of the Examination Report. If you need more time to gather evidence, a Form TM-M extension request — filed before the 30-day window closes — can buy additional time. Waiting past the deadline without acting risks the application being marked abandoned.

How Much Does It Cost to Reply?

There's no separate government fee to file the reply itself — that was already covered in your original filing fee. Costs at this stage are typically professional/agent fees only, unless you're also filing a TM-M extension request, which carries its own fee.

How to Actually Respond

Read our full step-by-step objection reply guide — it covers the exact process, what evidence works for an acquired-distinctiveness argument, and nine solved case-law examples matching the most common objection grounds.