Priority Action

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

 

PRIORITY ACTION

 

OFFICE SEARCH:  The examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered or pending mark which would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. Section 1052(d).  TMEP section 704.02. 

 

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, WE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OUR MAILING OR E-MAILING DATE.  This case will be given priority as an amended case if you respond to the requirements stated below within two months.

 

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

 

Serial Number  76/482249

 

The following issues were discussed in communication with Felicia Boyd on May 9, 2003.

 

PRIOR REGISTRATIONS

 

If the applicant is the owner of Registration Nos. 0779187, 2030590, 2433473 and others, the applicant must submit a claim of ownership.  37 C.F.R. §2.36; TMEP §812.

 

DISCLAIMER REQUIRED

 

The applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording "BALANCED DEFINED PORTFOLIO" apart from the mark as shown. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. §1056; TMEP §1213.  The wording merely describes a feature of the applicant's financial services.  See attached excerpt pages from three websites.

           

The computerized printing format for the Trademark Official Gazette requires a standard form for a disclaimer.   TMEP section 1213.08(a)(i).  A properly worded disclaimer should read as follows:

 

            No claim is made to the exclusive right to use "BALANCED DEFINED PORTFOLIO" apart from the mark as shown.

 

See In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm'r Pats. 1983).

 

Trademark Act Section 6(a), 15 U.S.C. §1056(a), permits the Office to require a disclaimer of an unregistrable component of a mark.  Trademark Act Section 2(e), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e), bars the registration of a mark which is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive of the goods. Therefore, the examining attorney may require the disclaimer of a portion of a mark which, when used in connection with the goods or services, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive.  If an applicant does not comply with a disclaimer requirement, the examining attorney may refuse registration of the entire mark.  TMEP §1213.01(b).

 

RESPONSE

 

If the applicant has particular questions regarding any of the issues set forth in this Office action, the applicant may telephone the assigned examining attorney.

 

 

/Douglas M. Lee/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 108

(703) 308-9108 ext. 198

fax: (703) 746-8108

douglas.lee4@uspto.gov

 

 

 

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, visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/trademarks/tmelecresp.htm 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