Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

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 76/451144

 

The assigned examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and determined the following.

 

Prior Pending Application/Potential Likelihood of Confusion

 

The examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered mark which bars registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  TMEP §704.02.  Please note that the examining attorney has found a potentially conflicting pending application.

 

The examining attorney encloses information regarding pending Application Serial No. 76/358165.  The filing date of the referenced application precedes the applicant’s filing date.  There may be a likelihood of confusion between the two marks under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  If the referenced application matures into a registration, the examining attorney may refuse registration in this case under Section 2(d).  37 C.F.R. §2.83; TMEP §1208.01.

 

If the applicant believes that there is no potential conflict between this application and the earlier-filed application, the applicant may present arguments relevant to the issue in a request to remove the application from suspension.  The election to file or not to file such a request at this time in no way limits the applicant's right to address this issue at a later point.

 

Action on this application will be suspended pending the disposition of Application Serial No. 76/358165, upon receipt of the applicant's response resolving the following informalities.

 

Identification of Goods

 

The wording “computer . . . interfacing products” in the identification of goods is unacceptable as indefinite because the specific nature of the goods is unclear.  The applicant may amend this wording to “computer interfacing products, namely, [specify common commercial name of products”,” if accurate.  TMEP §1402.01.  All other wording in the identification of goods is ACCEPTABLE.

 

Please note that, while an application may be amended to clarify or limit the identification, additions to the identification are not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Therefore, the applicant may not amend to include any goods that are not within the scope of goods set forth in the present identification.

Typed Drawing

 

If the applicant wishes to register the typed version of the mark, the drawing is not acceptable because the mark is not typed entirely in capital letters.  37 C.F.R. §2.52(a)(1); TMEP §807.06.  The applicant must submit a new drawing on which the mark is typed entirely in capital letters.  If the applicant intends to show the mark in special form, the current drawing is understood to be a special‑form drawing and is acceptable.  37 C.F.R. §2.52.

 

The requirements for a typed drawing are as follows:

 

The Office prefers that the drawing be typed on a separate sheet of smooth, nonshiny, white paper 8 to 8½ inches (20.3 to 21.6 cm.) wide and 11 inches (27.9 cm.) long, and that the sheet contain a heading listing, on separate lines, the applicant’s complete name; the applicant’s address; the goods or services recited in the application; and, if the application is filed under Section 1(a) of the Act, the dates of first use of the mark and of first use of the mark in commerce; or, if the application is filed under Section 44(d), the priority filing date of the foreign application.

 

The mark must be typed entirely in capital letters, without spaces between the letters.

 

37 C.F.R. §2.52; TMEP §§807.01(a), 807.01(b), 807.01(c) and 807.06.

 

If the applicant has any questions concerning this Office action, please telephone the assigned examining attorney.

 

/ELIZABETH J. WINTER/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 113

(703) 308-9113 ext. 149; FAX (703) 746-6228

(703) 285-1184 (M, T, W)

 

 

Fee increase effective January 1, 2003

Effective January 1, 2003, the fee for filing an application for trademark registration will be increased to $335.00 per International Class.  The USPTO will not accord a filing date to applications that are filed on or after that date that are not accompanied by a minimum of $335.00. 

 

Additionally, the fee for amending an existing application to add an additional class or classes of goods/services will be $335.00 per class for classes added on or after January 1, 2003.

 

 

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 E-mail, follow these instructions:

 

To respond to this Office action electronically, the applicant must:

 

• include the serial number in the subject line;

o       send the response to ecom113@uspto.gov.  Responses sent to any other address will NOT be processed, and may result in ABANDONMENT of the application;

o       submit specimens and/or evidence as scanned images or digital photographs in .GIF or .JPG format only.  NO OTHER FORMATS WILL BE PROCESSED (TMEP §304.01);

o       respond within six-months from the Office action mailing date, or within the period stated in the Office action;

o       respond in English; and

o       sign the response electronically, e.g. /john smith/.  See 37 CFR §1.4(d)(1)(iii); TMEP §§304.08 and 804.05.

 

If the applicant wishes to receive future office actions by e-mail, the applicant must state in the response that “The applicant authorizes the USPTO to communicate with the applicant electronically at the following e-mail address: ____________.”  Note: only one e-mail address may be used for correspondence.  TMEP §804.07. 

 

The examining attorney will send correspondence only to the e-mail address listed in the application.  A request to change an e-mail address may be submitted by signed e-mail to one of the above e-mail addresses.

 

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