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SMARTSOLUTIONS

MBC IP CO.

TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 76401921 - SMARTSOLUTIONS - 27475/05108

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

    SERIAL NO: 76/401921

 

    APPLICANT:                          MBC IP CO.

 

 

        

*76401921*

    CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS:

    Douglas B. McKnight

    Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP

    Suite 1400

    800 Superior Avenue

    Cleveland OH 44114

RETURN ADDRESS: 

Commissioner for Trademarks

2900 Crystal Drive

Arlington, VA 22202-3514

 

 

 

 

    MARK:          SMARTSOLUTIONS

 

 

 

    CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO:   27475/05108

 

    CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS: 

 IPDocket@calfee.com

Please provide in all correspondence:

 

1.  Filing date, serial number, mark and

     applicant's name.

2.  Date of this Office Action.

3.  Examining Attorney's name and

     Law Office number.

4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, WE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OUR MAILING OR E-MAILING DATE. 

 

 

Serial Number  76/401921

 

On April 9, 2003, action on this application was suspended pending the disposition of Application Serial No. 76366769.  The referenced pending application has since registered.  Therefore, registration is now refused as follows.

 

Likelihood of Confusion

The examining attorney refuses registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d), because the applicant’s mark, when used on or in connection with the identified goods/services, so resembles the mark in U.S. Registration No. 2828331 as to be likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive.  TMEP §§1207.01 et seq.  See the enclosed registration.

 

The examining attorney must analyze each case in two steps to determine whether there is a likelihood of confusion.  First, the examining attorney must look at the marks themselves for similarities in appearance, sound, connotation and commercial impression.  In re E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d 1357, 177 USPQ 563 (C.C.P.A. 1973).  Second, the examining attorney must compare the goods or services to determine if they are related or if the activities surrounding their marketing are such that confusion as to origin is likely.  In re August Storck KG, 218 USPQ 823 (TTAB 1983); In re International Telephone and Telegraph Corp., 197 USPQ 910 (TTAB 1978); Guardian Products Co., v. Scott Paper Co., 200 USPQ 738 (TTAB 1978).  TMEP §§1207.01 et seq. 

 

The applicant’s mark, SMART SOLUTIONS, is similar to the registered mark, SOLUTIONS, in that the dominant portion of the marks is SOLUTIONS.  The test of likelihood of confusion is not whether the marks can be distinguished when subjected to a side‑by‑side comparison.  The issue is whether the marks create the same overall impression. Visual Information Institute, Inc. v. Vicon Industries Inc., 209 USPQ 179 (TTAB 1980).  The focus is on the recollection of the average purchaser who normally retains a general rather than specific impression of trademarks.  Chemetron Corp. v. Morris Coupling & Clamp Co., 203 USPQ 537 (TTAB 1979); Sealed Air Corp. v. Scott Paper Co., 190 USPQ 106 (TTAB 1975); TMEP §1207.01(b).

 

Applicant adds the term “SMART” to the registered mark.  The mere addition of a term to a registered mark does not obviate the similarity between the marks nor does it overcome a likelihood of confusion under Section 2(d).  Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., 526 F.2d 556, 188 USPQ 105 (C.C.P.A. 1975) (“BENGAL” and “BENGAL LANCER”); Lilly Pulitzer, Inc. v. Lilli Ann Corp., 376 F.2d 324, 153 USPQ 406 (C.C.P.A. 1967) (“THE LILLY” and “LILLI ANN”); In re El Torito Rests. Inc., 9 USPQ2d 2002 (TTAB 1988) (“MACHO” and “MACHO COMBOS”); In re United States Shoe Corp., 229 USPQ 707 (TTAB 1985) (“CAREER IMAGE” and “CREST CAREER IMAGES”); In re Corning Glass Works, 229 USPQ 65 (TTAB 1985) (“CONFIRM” and “CONFIRMCELLS”); In re Riddle, 225 USPQ 630 (TTAB 1985) (“ACCUTUNE” and “RICHARD PETTY’S ACCU TUNE”); In re Cosvetic Laboratories, Inc., 202 USPQ 842 (TTAB 1979) (“HEAD START” and “HEAD START COSVETIC”); TMEP §1207.01(b)(iii).

 

The applicant seeks registration for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and kitchen and bathroom design services.  The cited registration is for furniture.  Kitchen and bathroom cabinets are often offered together with design services, in the same channels of trade with furniture.  The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has previously determined that kitchen cabinets and furniture are closely related goods.  Drexel Ent., Inc. v. H.J. Scheirich Co., 167 USPQ 125, 127 (TTAB 1970).

 

While third party registrations have little weight in the area of whether the marks themselves are confusingly similar, they can provide evidence that kitchen and bathroom cabinets and design services are often offered by companies together with furniture.  The examining attorney encloses copies of eleven representative registrations for trademarks where these goods are offered by the same registrant. (See attachments).

 

The goods/services of the parties need not be identical or directly competitive to find a likelihood of confusion.  They need only be related in some manner, or the conditions surrounding their marketing be such, that they could be encountered by the same purchasers under circumstances that could give rise to the mistaken belief that the goods/services come from a common source.  In re Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc., 748 F.2d 1565, 223 USPQ 1289 (Fed. Cir. 1984); In re Corning Glass Works, 229 USPQ 65 (TTAB 1985); In re Rexel Inc., 223 USPQ 830 (TTAB 1984); Guardian Products Co., Inc. v. Scott Paper Co., 200 USPQ 738 (TTAB 1978); In re International Telephone & Telegraph Corp., 197 USPQ 910 (TTAB 1978).  TMEP §1207.01(a)(i). 

 

Although the examining attorney has refused registration, the applicant may respond to the refusal to register by submitting evidence and arguments in support of registration.  If the applicant chooses to respond to the refusal to register, the applicant must also respond to the following items.

Specimen Not Acceptable, and Statement Required

Applicant’s specimen for services in class 42 is not acceptable, because it does not mention kitchen design services, nor does it show the mark associated with providing kitchen design services via global computer networks.  Rather it appears to be a brochure about the line of cabinets available from applicant with the web addresses www.schrock.com and www.letstalkkitchens.com far removed from applicant’s mark (on the cover of the brochure).  Also, applicant did not supply the required statement that the specimen was in use in commerce as early as the filing date of the application (it appears not to have completed printing at the bottom of page 5 of applicant’s response).  Applicant must still submit the required statement verified with an affidavit or declaration.

 Type of Entity and Citizenship Omitted

Applicant did not respond to the requirement that it state the type of entity and citizenship of the applicant.  The applicant must still provide this information.

 

 

 

NOTICE:  TRADEMARK OPERATION RELOCATING OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER  2004

 

The Trademark Operation is relocating to Alexandria, Virginia, in October and November 2004.  Effective October 4, 2004, all Trademark-related paper mail (except documents sent to the Assignment Services Division for recordation, certain documents filed under the Madrid Protocol, and requests for copies of trademark documents) must be sent to:

 

Commissioner for Trademarks

P.O. Box 1451

Alexandria, VA  22313-1451

 

Applicants, registration owners, attorneys and other Trademark customers are strongly encouraged to correspond with the USPTO online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), at www.uspto.gov.

 

 

To reach the undersigned attorney by telephone after October 19, 2004, please call (571) 272 - 9274. To submit a fax response to this Office action after that date, send your response to the Law Office fax number, namely (571) 273-9103.  Thank you.

 

/M. Catherine Faint/

Trademark Attorney

Law Office 103

phone: (703) 308-9103 x225

fax: (703) 746-6158

 

 

How to respond to this Office Action:

 

To respond formally using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html and follow the instructions.

 

To respond formally via regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing Return Address listed above and include the serial number, law office and examining attorney’s name on the upper right corner of each page of your response.

 

To check the status of your application at any time, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/

 

For general and other useful information about trademarks, you are encouraged to visit the Office’s web site at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm

 

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

 

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