Section 2(d) refusal

The formal name for a likelihood of confusion refusal. Responding usually means arguing that the goods and services are different enough, that the marks differ in commercial impression, or amending the description to move further away from the cited mark.

The statutory name for a likelihood of confusion refusal. Seeing Section 2(d) on the letter tells you two useful things straight away: this is a substantive refusal rather than a formality, and there is a specific earlier mark the examiner is measuring you against. You can go and read it.

1. Find the cited registration number in the letter and look it up in USPTO TSDR.
2. Compare its goods and services description against yours. Overlap is what makes the refusal stick.
3. Consider whether amending your description moves you far enough away without gutting the protection you actually need.
4. If the marks genuinely differ in overall impression, that argument has to be made properly - it is the point examiners push back on hardest.

A coffee brand is refused against a cited mark in the same class with a near-identical sound. The response argues the two are sold through different channels to different buyers, and narrows the description from 'beverages' to roasted coffee beans sold direct to consumers. The narrowing is often what makes the argument land.