KSD, Inc. manufactures and sells electronics components. In January of 2023, KSD launched a new product line under the name GOLDTOUCH. KSD's GOLDTOUCH products are distinguished from its other products by the golden color of their metal connectors. (In its other product lines, the metal connectors are silver colored because they are made of aluminum). In the electronics industry, components with connectors made of or plated with gold are highly valued because (1) gold is a substantially better conductor of electricity than base metals such as aluminum, and (2) gold is highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion, unlike other highly conductive metals such as copper and silver. Despite these properties, gold is rarely used in electronics components because of its extremely high cost relative to other metals.
KSD's GOLDTOUCH products do not contain any actual gold. Their connectors are made of an aluminum-copper alloy that is golden in color but less conductive than gold (though more conductive than pure aluminum) and more prone to oxidation and corrosion than gold or gold alloys (though less so than pure copper). By the end of January, 2023, KSD had sold units of its GOLDTOUCH products via its website to customers throughout the United States.
IHM, Ltd. also manufactures and sells electronics components. In February of 2023, IHM launched a new product line under the name GOLDTOUCH. Although they are direct competitors, IHM was unaware of KSD's GOLDTOUCH product line at the time it adopted its own GOLDTOUCH mark. Unlike in KSD's products, the metal connectors in IHM's GOLDTOUCH products are plated with pure gold. By the end of February, 2023, IHM had sold units of its GOLDTOUCH products via its website to customers throughout the United States.
On March 15, 2023, IHM filed an application to register the trademark GOLDTOUCH for various electronic components with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under Section 1(a) of the Lanham Act, claiming a first use in commerce date of February 5, 2023. On March 20, 2023, KSD filed an application to register the trademark GOLDTOUCH for various types of electronic components with the USPTO under Section 1(a) of the Lanham Act, claiming a first use in commerce date of January 10, 2023.
Both parties' applications have been assigned to you, a trademark examining attorney at the USPTO. Both KSD and IHM have filed letters of protest to one another's applications under Section 1(f) of the Lanham Act. KSD's letter of protest argues that it was the first user of the GOLDTOUCH mark in the United States and that IHM's registration would be likely to cause confusion under Section 2(d). KSD has submitted evidence of the GOLDTOUCH mark in use on its website and evidence of its sales in January 2023 as part of its Section 1(f) submission. IHM's letter of protest agrees that the concurrent use of the GOLDTOUCH mark by both parties in the United States would be likely to cause confusion under Section 2(d), but argues that KSD's mark is unregistrable under Sections 2(a) and/or 2(e)(1) of the Lanham Act. As part of its Section 1(f) submission, IHM has submitted laboratory test results showing that KSD's components contain no gold.

Neither party has submitted any evidence of secondary meaning.
Question Prompt:
Write two office action memoranda—one for each application before you, in whichever order you think appropriate—explaining your decision to either (1) publish the application for opposition notwithstanding the letter of protest, or (2) reject the application. In preparing your memoranda, you may rely on the parties' stipulation that concurrent use of the GOLDTOUCH mark by both of them on their respective products would be likely to cause confusion. You should address the arguments raised in the parties' letters of protest as well as any other plausible grounds for rejecting the applications. The total length of both memoranda combined should be 1500 words or less; you may distribute this word limit between the two memoranda however you see fit, and you may incorporate portions of one memorandum into the other by reference rather than repeating your analysis.