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  76/492698

 

This letter responds to the applicant’s communication filed on March 8, 2004.

 

As the following informality remains outstanding, the refusal to register is continued and made FINAL.

 

Applicant must correct the format for the disclaimer of record.  Applicant has entered a disclaimer of the individual terms COBBLE and SYSTEMS apart from the mark as a whole.  However, these terms appear together in the mark as the unitary phrase “ COBBLE SYSTEMS,” and this wording must therefore be disclaimed as a unit in the following format:

 

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “COBBLE SYSTEMS” apart from the mark as shown.

 

A disclaimer of the individual component words of a complete descriptive phrase is improper.  See, e.g., In re Medical Disposables Co., 25 USPQ2d 1801, 1805 (TTAB 1992); In re Wanstrath, 7 USPQ2d 1412, 1413 (Comm’r Pats. 1987); American Speech-Language-Hearing Association v. National Hearing Aid Society, 224 USPQ 798, 804 n.3 (TTAB 1984); In re Surelock Mfg. Co., Inc., 125 USPQ 23, 24 (TTAB 1960).  This standard is applied strictly, and the disclaimer of individual words separately is generally appropriate only when the words being disclaimed are separated by registrable matter.  TMEP §1213.08(b).  See the attached definitions from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

 

Applicant may respond to this final action by: 

 

(1)   submitting a response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements, if feasible (37 C.F.R. §2.64(a)); or

(2)   filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with an appeal fee of $100 per class (37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(18) and 2.64(a); TMEP §§715.01 and 1501 et seq.; TBMP Chapter 1200).

 

In certain circumstances, a petition to the Director may be filed to review a final action that is limited to procedural issues, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2).  37 C.F.R. §2.64(a).  See 37 C.F.R. §2.146(b), TMEP §1704, and TBMP Chapter 1201.05 for an explanation of petitionable matter.  The petition fee is $100.  37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).

 

 

 

 

/Barney L. Charlon/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 105

(703) 308-9105 ext. 130

 

 

cob·ble (kòb¹el) noun

1.    A cobblestone.

2.    Geology. A rock fragment between 64 and 256 millimeters in diameter, especially one that has been naturally rounded.

3.                        cobbles. See cob coal.[1]

 

sys·tem (sîs¹tem) noun

Abbr. syst.

1.    A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.

2.    A functionally related group of elements, especially:. a. The human body regarded as a functional physiological unit. b. An organism as a whole, especially with regard to its vital processes or functions. c. A group of physiologically or anatomically complementary organs or parts: the nervous system; the skeletal system. d. A group of interacting mechanical or electrical components. e. A network of structures and channels, as for communication, travel, or distribution.

3.    An organized set of interrelated ideas or principles.

4.    A social, economic, or political organizational form.

5.    A naturally occurring group of objects or phenomena: the solar system.

6.                               A set of objects or phenomena grouped together for classification or analysis.[2]

7.    A condition of harmonious, orderly interaction.

8.    An organized and coordinated method; a procedure. See synonyms at method.

9.    The prevailing social order; the establishment. Used with the: You can't beat the system.

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.