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  76/533341

 

The following issues were discussed in communication with John R. Hlavka on February 2, 2004.

Identification of Goods

The identification of goods is unacceptable because the term, “equipment” is indefinite.  The applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate:  “Lumber and veneer inspection equipment, namely, [specify goods, use common commercial names, i.e. laser scanners for industrial inspection].”  TMEP §1402.01.

 

[Please note that the examining attorney cannot suggest a classification of the goods until the applicant provides further specification concerning the nature of the identified goods.]

 

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.

 

For assistance regarding an acceptable listing of goods and/or services, please see the on‑line searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services, at http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/offices/tac/doc/gsmanual/.

 

Unacceptable Drawing

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.  If the applicant wishes to register the typed version of the mark, the applicant must submit a drawing on which the mark is typed entirely in capital letters.  If the applicant intends to show the mark in special form, the applicant must submit an acceptable special‑form drawing.  37 C.F.R. §2.52.

 

The requirements for a special‑form drawing are as follows:

 

(1) The drawing must appear in black and white; no color is permitted.

 

(2)  Every line and letter must be black and clear.

 

(3)  The use of gray to indicate shading is unacceptable.

 

(4)  The lining must not be too fine or too close together.

 

(5)  The preferred size of the area in which the mark is displayed is 2½ inches (6.1 cm.) high and 2½ inches (6.1 cm.) wide.  It should not be larger than 4 inches (10.3 cm.) high or 4 inches (10.3 cm.) wide.

 

(6)  If the reduction of the mark to the required size renders any details illegible, the applicant may insert a statement in the application to describe the mark and these details.

 

37 C.F.R. §2.52; TMEP §§807.01(b) and 807.07(a).  The Office will enforce these drawing requirements strictly. 

 

The Office prefers that the drawing be depicted 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.  37 C.F.R. §2.52(b); TMEP §§807.01(a), 807.01(b), 807.01(c) and 807.07(a).

 

An applicant cannot amend the drawing of the mark if the change materially alters the mark.  TMEP §807.14(a).  The Office determines whether a proposed amendment materially alters a mark by comparing the proposed amendment with the description or drawing of the mark filed with the original application.  37 C.F.R. §2.72.  TMEP §807.14(a)(i). 

 

Advisory - New Drawing Rules in Effect for Applications Filed on or After November 2, 2003

New Trademark Rules pertaining to drawings went into effect on November 2, 2003.  The new rules may be found at 37 C.F.R. §2.52(a) and information regarding these rules may be found in Exam Guide 01-03, section I.A.9.

 

All applications filed on or after November 2, 2003, must comply with the new drawing rules.   For applications filed before November 2, 2003, the new rules are optional.  Applicants opting to amend their drawing to comply with the new rules must advise the assigned Examining Attorney.

 

 

If the applicant has any questions or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned examining attorney.

 

 

/Richard F. White/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 113

Telephone:  703.308.9113, ext. 219

Fax:  703.746.8113

Ecom113@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