Offc Action Outgoing

In laymen’s terms the current owner stated the original Legal Entity was established in Mexico if the owner has now established the Legal Entity in another country or state the owner must follow the directions below in order to file the proper paper work with the Assignment Services Branch to establish the New Legal Entity. If this is a mere clerical error, please clarify in your response.

LEGAL ENTITY

The owner of the Section 8 Affidavit must establish its Legal Entity of the registration. Trademark Act Section 8 requires the current owner of the registration to file the Section 8 Affidavit. 15 U.S.C. §1058; 37 C.F.R. §§2.161(a), 3.73(b); TMEP §1604.07(e). Office records do not show clear chain of title in the change of Legal Entity for the Section 8 Affidavit.

Office records show clear chain of title with the Legal Entity of individual, Mexico. However, the current showing of the Legal Entity of the Section 8 Affidavit is identified as a individual, OTHER.

The party who filed the Section 8 Affidavit must establish its current Legal Entity of the registration. 15 U.S.C. §1058; 37 C.F.R. §2.161(a); TMEP §1604.07(e). The Legal Entity can be established by satisfying one of the following: (1) recording the appropriate documents with the Assignment Services Branch of the Office; or (2) submitting actual evidence showing the transfer of title to the party who filed the Section 8 Affidavit. 37 C.F.R. §3.73(b); TMEP §§1604.07(b). More information about these two methods for establishing ownership of the registration appears directly below.

(1) If the present owner chooses to record the appropriate documents with the Assignment Services Branch, the documents must be recorded before expiration of the time for filing a response. In addition, you must notify the undersigned when the documents have been recorded. For information regarding recording assignments, name changes and mergers, please visit the webpage http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/trademarks/workflow/assign.htm and see TMEP §§503 et seq. For specific questions, please contact the Assignment Services Branch at 571-272-3350. To expedite recordation, the owner is encouraged to file requests for recordation through the Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) at http://etas.uspto.gov. To record an assignment, the owner must submit the assignment documents along with a cover sheet and the required fee. 37 C.F.R. §§3.28, 3.31. The fees for recording an assignment are $40.00 for the first mark in a document and $25.00 for each additional mark in the same document. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(b)(6). The Office will accept for recording a copy of an original document, a copy of an extract from the document evidencing the effect on title, or a statement signed by both the party conveying the interest and the party receiving the interest explaining how the conveyance affects title. 37 C.F.R. §3.25.

(2) If the present owner prefers to submit actual evidence of ownership directly to the undersigned trademark specialist, copies of the actual documents transferring title or a statement explaining the valid transfer of legal title must be submitted. If submitting a statement of facts explaining the transfer of title, this statement must be verified with an affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. See 37 C.F.R. §3.73; TMEP §§502 et seq.

Please note that if the party who filed the Combined Affidavit submits sufficient evidence to establish ownership but the ownership documents are not recorded with the Assignment Services Branch before expiration of the time to file a response, then the acceptance notice will issue in the name of the owner of record. 37 C.F.R. §3.85; TMEP §502.02. There is no deficiency, and no deficiency surcharge is required for providing evidence to establish ownership. TMEP §1604.07(a).

Information for Combined Affidavits Not Filed in the Name of the Owner

If the Combined Affidavit was not filed in the name of the owner of the registration and there is time remaining in the statutory filing period, including grace period, when responding to this Office action, the true owner may (1) submit a correction of the name in the filing of record or (2) file a complete new Combined Affidavit with a new specimen and filing fee. Please note that a deficiency surcharge is required if the Combined Affidavit was submitted before the grace period began and a correction of the name in the filing of record is received during the grace period. 37 C.F.R. §2.164(a)(1); TMEP §1604.17(a). The deficiency surcharge is $100. 37 C.F.R. §2.6. If the owner opts to file a complete new affidavit and fee, this must be explicitly stated in the filing; otherwise, it will be treated as a correction of the owner name. The fee for filing a Combined Affidavit is $300 per class. 37 C.F.R. §2.6. If the new Combined Affidavit is filed during the six-month grace period, the owner must pay the filing fee for the Combined Affidavit and the grace period fee. 15 U.S.C. §1058; 37 C.F.R. §§2.160, 2.161; TMEP §1604.07(a). The grace period fee is $100 per class. 37 C.F.R. §2.6.

If the Combined Affidavit was not filed in the name of the owner of the registration and there is no time remaining in the grace period when responding to this Office action, the true owner may submit a correction of the name in the filing of record with payment of the deficiency surcharge, but may not file a new Combined Affidavit. 15 U.S.C. §1058.

Confirmation Required: Affidavit Signed by Authorized Signatory

If a correction of the name in the filing of record is submitted at any time, the true owner must confirm that the original affidavit was signed by a person properly authorized to sign on behalf of the owner. 37 C.F.R. §§2.161(b), 2.167, 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §1604.08(a). If the original affidavit was not signed by an authorized signatory, the owner must also submit a statement, verified with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 by a person properly authorized to sign on behalf of the owner, that affirms the representations in the original affidavit.

DECLARATION TO SIGN AND DATE (if correcting Ownership/Legal Entity)

The following statement and declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 can be used to verify the Combined Affidavit, if properly signed and dated:

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 6-year Section 8, that is, between the 5^th and 6^th year anniversary after the date of registration or the date of publication under 15 U.S.C. §1062 .

The mark has been in continuous use in commerce for five (5) consecutive years after the date of registration or the date of publication under 15 U.S.C. §1062(c), and is still in use in commerce on or in connection with all goods and/or services listed in the existing registration. There has been no final decision adverse to the owner’s claim of ownership of such mark for such goods and/or services, or to the owner’s rights to register the same or to keep the same on the register; and there is no proceeding involving said rights pending and not disposed of either in the United States Patent and Trademark Office or in the courts.

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 authorized to sign a Combined Affidavit on behalf of the owner:

(1) A person with legal authority to bind the owner;

(2) A person with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on behalf of the owner; and

(3) An attorney as defined in 37 C.F.R. §11.1 who has actual or implied written or verbal power of attorney from the owner.

37 C.F.R. §2.161(b); TMEP §1604.08(a).

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.

How to respond to this Office Action:

(ADVISORY NOTE:MAILING/E-MAILING DATE INFORMATION: If the mailing or e-mailing date of this Office action does not appear above, this information can be obtained by visiting the USPTO website at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/, inserting the application serial number, and viewing the prosecution history for the mailing date of the most recently issued Office communication.)

Use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Response to Post-Registration Office action form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageD.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.

You may also submit a response via regular mail to: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, e-mail(include a j-peg for specimen substitution), or facsimile, the response must include the following: registration number, office location 'Post Registration', and name of Trademark Specialist to expedite forwarding.

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.

The filing date of a document with the Office is the date the document is received in the Office. 37 C.F.R. §2.195(a); TMEP §§303 and 303.01. However, if a “certificate of mailing” by first class mail or a “certificate of facsimile transmission” under 37 C.F.R. §2.197 is added to the response and the procedures in 37 C.F.R. §§2.195(c) and 2.197 are satisfied, then the document will be considered timely filed if the document is mailed or transmitted prior to expiration of the response time period regardless of whether it was received in the Office after the response time period. TMEP §§305.02 and 306.05 et seq.

Certificate of Mailing under 37 C.F.R. §2.197:

I hereby certify that this correspondence is being deposited with the United States Postal Service as first class mail with postage paid in an envelope addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box, 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, on the date shown below.

____________________________

Signature

____________________________

Typed or Printed Name

____________________________

Date

Certificate of Facsimile transmission under 37 C.F.R. §2.197:

I hereby certify that this correspondence is facsimile transmitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the date shown below.

____________________________

Signature

____________________________

Typed or Printed Name

____________________________

Date

To expedite inquiries about this office action, please contact the undersigned Trademark Specialist via e-mail.

Should you need assistance for the following: Navigating through USPTO website, Post Registration TEAS Response applications, or general Trademark questions please contact: TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov, or telephone either 571-272-9250 or 1-800-786-9199.

How to find Post Registration Response Application

Go to

1) www.USPTO.GOV

2) under title Trademarks

3) #3 File Forms on line (double click)

4) Response Forms (double)

5) scroll down to #9 Response Application to Post Registration Office Action (double click) proceed with filling out the form

CHECK THE STATUS OF THE REGISTRATION OR REVIEW INCOMING & OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE: 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.

DAWN HEMBRY

/DAWN HEMBRY/

DAWN.HEMBRY@USPTO.GOV

TRADEMARK SPECIALIST

POST REGISTRATION

571/272-9506(OFFICE)

571/273-9506(FAX)