After the application is filed with the USPTO, the application will be examined, in about six to nine months, to determine whether the application satisfies the formal requirements, to determine whether the trademark is considered to be distinctive and registerable and to determine whether there may be other parties who have previously applied for or registered confusingly similar marks for similar goods or services. The applicant or its attorney must then file responses to the objections in order to overcome them. The nature of the objections can require relatively simple responses or extremely complex responses. If the objections can be overcome, the application will be published in the Official Gazette of the USPTO so that third parties may object to the application in opposition proceedings, which are in the nature of litigation. If no third parties object or if the applicant prevails in the opposition proceedings, the application will issue to registration. However, if the application was based on a bona fide intention to use the mark, the application will not issue to registration until the applicant files a declaration stating that use of the mark on the specified goods and services has commenced.