UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
SERIAL NO: 76/552077
APPLICANT: National Association of College Stores, ETC.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: CCR
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: 005438.00000
CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS: |
Please provide in all correspondence:
1. Filing date, serial number, mark and applicant's name. 2. Date of this Office Action. 3. Examining Attorney's name and Law Office number. 4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.
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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.
Serial Number 76/552077
This letter responds to the allegations of use filed on November 9, 2005, and December 14, 2005. The allegation of use is refused for the reasons set forth below.
The specimen (submitted with the November 9, 2005, allegation of use) does not use of the mark as a certification mark because the mark does not show use of the mark by authorized persons in the sale or advertising of their services; the specimen shows use of the mark by the applicant. Applicant must submit a substitute specimen showing use of the proposed mark as a certification mark for the goods and/or services identified in the application. Such use must be by parties authorized by applicant to use the mark. 37 C.F.R. §2.56(a)(5); TMEP §1306.06(c). In addition to the substitute specimen, applicant must submit a statement that “the substitute specimen was in use in commerce prior to the time for filing a statement of use”, verified with an affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. 37 C.F.R. §2.59(b)(2). Acceptable specimens for services must show use of the mark by authorized persons in the sale or advertising of their services. They may include advertisements, promotional materials, business cards, patches or pins, or other matter indicating that the services have been certified.
Attorney Signature
This requirement only applies to the December 12, 2005, allegation of use.
The applicant’s attorney failed to sign the transmittal letter, or any other part of the allegation of use, as required by TMEP §602.03 (Under 37 C.F.R. §10.18(a), every paper filed by a practitioner qualified under 37 C.F.R. §10.14 to practice before the Office in trademark cases, except for papers required to be signed by the applicant or party, must be personally signed by the practitioner). The attorney’s signature constitutes a certificate that the document's filing is authorized. 37 C.F.R. §10.18(b)(1).
A suggested response follows:
I reviewed the statement of use submitted on December 14, 2005, and its submission
to the Office was authorized by me as the applicant’s attorney.
_____________________________
(Signature)
_____________________________
(Print or Type Name and Position)
_____________________________
(Date)
Status Check
To check status information, please use either http://tarr.uspto.gov, or call 703-305-8747 (Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, EST). If additional information regarding the status of an application or registration is required, callers may telephone the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) at (571) 272-9250 or (800) 786-9199 and request a status check. TAC is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except on holidays.
Copies of Documents
The applicant may view and download any or all documents contained in the electronic file wrapper of all pending trademark applications, as well as many registrations via the Trademark Document Retrieval (TDR) system available online at: http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow. Currently, you can access all pending applications and all Madrid Protocol filings, and also many registrations, via TDR. The USPTO is in the process of converting all remaining registrations into a digital format, to permit future TDR access. This conversion process is expected to take several years.
Questions About This Action
If the applicant has any questions regarding this Office action, please call the examining attorney.
/Brian Pino/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 114
571.272.9209
571.273.9114 Law Office Facsimile
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS OFFICE ACTION:
STATUS OF APPLICATION: To check the status of your application, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.uspto.gov.
VIEW APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ONLINE: Documents in the electronic file for pending applications can be viewed and downloaded online at http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow.
GENERAL TRADEMARK INFORMATION: For general information about trademarks, please visit the Office’s website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm
FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY SPECIFIED ABOVE.