Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

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

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER AND SELECT FORM NUMBER 11:

 http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/reg_maintain.jsp

POST REGISTRATION OFFICE ACTION

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 4/20/2016

U.S. Registration Number  1919542

The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application was received on February 9, 2016.  The Section 9 portion of the combined filing can be granted.  However, the Section 8 portion is not accepted for the reason(s) set forth below.

Nonuse

The owner must submit additional information explaining the nonuse of the mark: 

1) The owner is claiming excusable nonuse under Trademark Act Section 8.  15 U.S.C. §1058.  A proper claim of excusable nonuse must include all of the following information:

(1)  the date of last use of the mark; 04-15-2015

(2)  the steps being taken to resume use; and

(3)  the approximate date when use is expected to resume.

37 C.F.R. §2.161(f)(2); TMEP §1604.11.

2) The owner must submit additional information showing that the special circumstances justifying nonuse were not within the control of the owner.  The explanation of special circumstances of record appears to indicate that the nonuse was within the control of the owner in this case.  The owner has indicated that it is not currently using the mark because bankruptcy.

For a proper claim of excusable nonuse, the owner must show that (1) the nonuse is due to special circumstances beyond the owner’s control, and (2) the nonuse does not reflect an intention to abandon the mark.  In re Moorman Manufacturing Co., 203 USPQ 712 (Comm’r Pats. 1979); 37 C.F.R. §2.161(f)(2); TMEP §1604.11.

RESPONSE TIME DEADLINE:  A complete response must be received within 6 months from the issuance date of this Office action.  The owner must respond to all inquiries set forth in this Office action to avoid cancellation of the registration.  37 C.F.R. §2.163(b)-(c); TMEP §1604.16.

/macyma/

MACY MA

Trademark Specialist

Post Registration Division

Phone 571-272-9538

Fax 571-273-9538

macy.ma@uspto.gov

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  Use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Response to Post-Registration Office action form number 11 at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/reg_maintain.jsp.  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. For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned specialist.  E-mail communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by e-mail.

All informal e-mail communications relevant to this registration will be placed in the official registration record.

WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE:  It must be personally signed by an individual owner or someone with legal authority to bind an owner (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint owners). If an owner 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 Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the TSDR status 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/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.