This means anyone who wants to object now has 30 days to object to the mark.
You can imagine they will, given how broadly they claim this mark (plus the examiner should have objected)
So basically, rather than complain and write articles, now is exactly the right time to file an objection to the mark.
The USPTO site makes this clear:
"Approved by the examining attorney for publication but has not yet published for opposition. Although rare, withdrawal of approval prior to publication may occur after final review. The opposition period begins on the date of publication."
Are you sure the trademark filing is based on a foreign filing and not on a foreign trademark? Meaning they got the trademark somewhere in the EU? That would make more sense.
Anyway, it is absurd, and everyone involved (applicants and those who approved it) should face defenestration.
The original basis was listed as 44(d), which would be a foreign filing.
I didn't look to see if it changed to 44(e), which would be based on a foreign registration.
Looking now, it looks like it issued in the EU, and the status changed to 44(e), so they have a valid registration in the EU for something, but OHIM is being a pain in the ass, so i can't look up all the details.
No, they haven't trademarked it.
They've applied for one.
It's been approved for publication in the official gazette.
It is now on step 11 of http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/
This means anyone who wants to object now has 30 days to object to the mark. You can imagine they will, given how broadly they claim this mark (plus the examiner should have objected)
So basically, rather than complain and write articles, now is exactly the right time to file an objection to the mark.
The USPTO site makes this clear: "Approved by the examining attorney for publication but has not yet published for opposition. Although rare, withdrawal of approval prior to publication may occur after final review. The opposition period begins on the date of publication."
If you want the exact status: http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85842584&caseType=SERIAL_N...
Also note: The basis is that it is based on a foreign filing (which means they also filed somewhere else other than the US)