"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."
A trademark is not registered until at least 30 days after it is first published for opposition. DannyBee is right on. These developers should be thanking the idiot lawyer for sending a C&D, as now they can file opposition claims with the US Trademark office and prevent it from being registered.
No surprise here. Sortfolio's value comes from its association with 37 Signals. Without it, I'd be surprise if more than 10% of the clients renew their annual listing.