To: | IDEX ONLINE SA (albertjangel@gmail.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3819970 - IDEX - N/A |
Sent: | 08/29/20 05:52:55 AM |
Sent As: | prg@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Owner’s Trademark Registration
U.S. Registration No. 3819970
Mark: IDEX
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Correspondence Address: |
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Owner: IDEX ONLINE SA
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
Correspondence Email Address: |
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OFFICE ACTION
The USPTO must receive the owner’s response to this letter within the time period specified below. Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears below.
Issue date: August 29, 2020
The Combined Section 8 Affidavit & Section 9 Renewal Application was received on July 20, 2020. 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.
I. SPECIMEN DEFICIENCY – URL/DATE ACCESSED IS MISSING FROM SPECIMEN
The owner may respond by:
(1) Submitting a verified statement, in a signed affidavit or supported by a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, specifying the URL of the original webpage specimen and the date it was accessed or printed; no deficiency fee is necessary; or
(2) Submitting a substitute specimen(s), that includes the URL and date accessed or printed, and that shows current use of the registered mark in commerce accompanied by the following statement, verified with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20: “The substitute specimen was in use in commerce during the relevant period for filing the 10-year Section 8.” 37 C.F.R. §2.161(g); TMEP §1604.12(c). A deficiency fee may be required, depending on when a response is received. 37 C.F.R. §2.164; TMEP §§1604.12(c), 1604.17.
As noted above, a deficiency fee may be due if the owner submits a substitute specimen. If the owner responds by submitting the URL and access date under declaration for a specimen already of record, no deficiency fee is due to address this issue.
Examples of specimens. Electronic specimens may be an image, such as a photograph or scanned copy, of the physical specimen. Specimens for goods include an image of (1) the actual goods bearing the mark; (2) labels or tags shown attached to the goods or including informational matter that typically appears on a tag or label in use in commerce for these types of goods; (3) an actual container or packaging for the goods bearing the mark; or (4) a point-of-sale display showing the mark directly associated with the goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(1), (c); TMEP §904.03(a)-(m). A webpage specimen submitted as a display associated with the goods must show the mark in association with a picture or textual description of the goods and include information necessary for ordering the goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(1), (c); TMEP §904.03(i).
Specimens for services must show a direct association between the mark and the services and include: (1) copies of advertising and marketing material, (2) a photograph of business signage or billboards, or (3) materials showing the mark in the sale, rendering, or advertising of the services. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(2), (c); TMEP §1301.04(a), (h)(iv)(C).
Any webpage printout or screenshot submitted as a specimen, whether for goods or services, must include the webpage’s URL and the date it was accessed or printed. 37 C.F.R. §2.56(c).
II. SAMPLE DECLARATION
The owner was using the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services identified in the registration for which use of the mark in commerce is claimed, as evidenced by the submitted specimen, during the relevant period for filing the 10-year Section 8.
The undersigned, being hereby warned that willful false statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. §1001, and that such willful false statement may jeopardize the validity of this document, declares that s/he is properly authorized to execute this document on behalf of the owner, and all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true and that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
__________________________
Signature of Authorized Person
__________________________
Type or Print Name
__________________________
Date
The following persons are properly authorized to sign a Section 8 Affidavit on behalf of the owner:
(1) A person with legal authority to bind the owner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner);
(2) A person with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on behalf of the owner; or
(3) An authorized attorney who has an actual written or verbal power of attorney or an implied power of attorney from the owner.
37 C.F.R. §§2.161(b), 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §1604.08(a).
III. SIGNATURE ON RESPONSE - ADVISORY
The only attorneys who can practice before the USPTO in trademark matters are (1) attorneys in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other federal territories and possessions) or (2) Canadian agents/attorneys reciprocally recognized by the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) who are appointed in connection with a U.S.-licensed attorney, and who are representing trademark registrants located in Canada. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(a), 11.1 11.14, 11.14(a), (c), (e). Foreign attorneys (other than recognized Canadian attorneys) cannot sign responses or otherwise represent registrants before the USPTO. See 37 C.F.R. §11.14(c).
If the owner is not represented by an attorney, the response must be signed by the owner or by someone with legal authority to bind the owner (i.e., a corporate officer of a corporate owner, the equivalent of an officer for unincorporated organizations or limited liability company owners, a general partner of a partnership owner, each owner for registrations with multiple individual owners, etc.). 37 C.F.R. §§2.163(b), 2.184(b)(2); see TMEP §§712-712.01(a)(viii).
A non-attorney who is authorized to verify facts on behalf of an owner under 37 C.F.R. §2.33(a)(2) (such as trademark administrators, accountants, business managers, administrative assistants, and personal assistants) cannot sign responses to Office actions unless he or she also has legal authority to bind the owner. See TMEP §§712.03 and 804.04.
IV. RESPONSE GUIDELINES
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 and/or expiration of the registration. If a response is not received, and there is no time remaining in the grace period to file a new affidavit, the registration will be cancelled and will expire in its entirety. 37 C.F.R. §§2.163(b)-(c) and 2.185(a)(2); TMEP §§1604.16, 1604.17(b), and 1606.13(b).
DEFICIENCY SURCHARGE: The owner must submit a $100 deficiency surcharge if its response to this Office action is received after the expiration of the grace period, i.e., after January 20, 2021. 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.164(a)(2) and 2.185(a)(2).
How to respond. Click to file a Response to Post-Registration Office action.
Direct questions about this Office action to the Post Registration staff member below.
/Shawnee Letsa/
Trademark Specialist
Post Registration Division
571-272-9626 Direct
Shawnee.letsa@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE