Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT REGISTRANT’S TRADEMARK REGISTRATION

 POST REGISTRATION OFFICE ACTION

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 2/24/2012

Registration Number  676234

The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application was received on March 20, 2008.  The Combined Sections 8 and 9 are not accepted for the reason(s) set forth below.

Executed Too early

You must submit a newly executed Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application on or between March 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009, or during the grace period that ends on September 31, 2009.  The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application, received in the Office on March 20, 2008, was submitted too early.  The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application must be filed within one year before the registration expiration date, (or the date of publication under 15 U.S.C. §1062(c)), or during the ensuing grace period.  15 U.S.C. §§1058(b) and 1059(a); 37 C.F.R. §§2.160 and 2.182; TMEP §§1604.04(a) and 1606.03.

The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application documentation will remain in the record; i.e., the Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application will not be returned to you and will not be processed or reviewed. 

FEES:  the fee(s) will be refunded to Deposit Account.

You can seek registration of the same mark for the same goods and/or services by filing a new trademark application.  For expedited service, you are encouraged to file your application via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) online at www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html.

If you disagree with this refusal to accept the Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application, you may file a petition to the Director to review this decision.  37 C.F.R. §§2.146(a)(2), 2.165 and 2.186; TMEP §§1604.18 et seq and 1606.14 et seq.  The petition must be filed within six months from the issuance date of this letter and be accompanied by a fee of $100.  37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.146(a)(2), 2.165(b) and 2.186(b).  Any facts to be proven on petition must be in the form of an affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20; and signed by someone with firsthand knowledge of the facts to be proved.  37 C.F.R. §2.146(c). 

Please note that the requirement for timely filing a Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application within the one year before the registration expiration date, or before expiration of the ensuing grace period, is a statutory requirement that cannot be waived on petition.  In re Mother Tucker’s Food Experience (Can.) Inc., 925 F.2d 1402, 17 USPQ2d 1795 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Holland Am. Wafer Co., 737 F.2d 1015, 222 USPQ 273 (Fed. Cir. 1984); In re ACE III Commc’ns, Inc., 62 USPQ2d 1049 (Dir USPTO 2001). 

Macy Ma

Trademark Specialist

571-272-9538

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  Use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Response to Post-Registration Office action form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageC.htm.  Please wait 48-72 hours from the issue/mailing date before using TEAS, to allow for necessary system updates of the registration.  For technical assistance with online forms, e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov.

WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE:  It must be personally signed by (1) an individual registrant; (2) someone with legal authority to bind registrant (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint applicants); or (3) an authorized attorney, if one is appointed to represent registrant.  If a registrant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response.

CHECK THE STATUS OF THE REGISTRATION:  To check the status of your registration at any time, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/.  Please keep a copy of the complete TARR screen.  For more information on checking status, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/.

TO UPDATE CORRESPONDENCE/E-MAIL ADDRESS:  Use the TEAS form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageE.htm.

FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED SPECIALIST.