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  76/560050

 

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

 

PRIOR PENDING APPLICATIONS

 

Although the examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered mark which would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. Section 1052(d), the examining attorney encloses information regarding pending Application Serial Nos. 76004325 and 75518508.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.83. 

 

There may be a likelihood of confusion between the applicant's mark and the marks in the above noted applications under Section 2(d) of the Act.  The filing dates of the referenced applications precede the applicant's filing date.  If the earlier‑filed applications mature into registrations, the examining attorney may refuse registration under Section 2(d).

 

Action on this application will be suspended pending the disposition of Applications Serial Nos. 76004325 and 75518508, upon receipt of the applicant's response resolving the following informality.

 

The examining attorney attached copies of the cited applications for your review and consideration.

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS - INDEFINITE

 

The applicant must clarify the identification of goods by amending the goods to read with greater specificity.   The applicant must specifically identify the intended use for the electronic controllers in question TMEP section 804.

 

The applicant may adopt the following identification of goods, if accurate: 

 

“Stereo and electronic systems for reproducing sound recordings, namely, electronic controllers for exchanging compact discs and DVDs and retrieving information on compact discs and DVDs in CD and DVD players, in International Class 9.”

 

The PTO’s Acceptable ID Manual, containing lists of acceptable identifications of goods and services is available on the Patent and Trademark Office’s home page at www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/gsmanual/.  The Manual includes explanations and notices of classification policy.

 

Please note that if the applicant amends its identification to include goods in more then one class, then, the applicant must either:  (1) restrict the application to the number of class(es) covered by the fee already paid, or (2) pay the required fee for each additional class(es).  37 C.F.R. Section 2.86(a)(2); TMEP sections 810.01 and 1113.01. 

 

INCLUDE ONLY GOODS THAT ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE ORIGINAL IDENTIFICATION

 

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. Section 2.71(b); TMEP section 804.09.  Therefore, the applicant may not amend to include any goods or services that are not within the scope of the goods and services recited in the present identification.

 

NOTE FOR ELECTRONIC RESPONSES

 

Any communications regarding pending applications sent via e-mail to any of the law office e-mail addresses must:

 

(1)  be in English;

(2)            include the entire response as e-mail text, not as an attachment;

(3)  list the serial number in the "Subject" line; and

(4)  include any specimens or evidence in jpg or gif format only.

 

For security and compatibility reasons, the Office will not accept communications that include any attachments, other than those in jpg or gif format.  Thus, no attachments in WordPerfect®, Word, Adobe® PDF or any other format EXCEPT jpg or gif can be accepted. 

 

Additionally, all such communications sent via e-mail should (1) be signed electronically (using the same format accepted for electronically-filed applications, namely, the signatory must enter any combination of alpha/numeric characters that has been specifically adopted to serve the function of the signature, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol.  Acceptable "signatures" could include: /john doe/; /jd/; and /123-4567/.  (See 64 FR 33056, 33062 (June 21, 1999))); and (2) address every issue raised.  Failure to comply with these additional requirements will result in delays in prosecuting your application.

 

NOTE REGARDING TIMELY FILING OF RESPONSES

 

The statutory period for response to an Office action during examination is six months.  15 U.S.C. §1062(b).  The examining attorney does not have any discretion to shorten or extend such period. 

 

The crucial date for the response is the date it is received by the Office, not the date it is mailed by the applicant.  The applicant should see 37 C.F.R. §§1.8 and 1.10; TMEP §§702.02, 702.03 and 702.04(f), regarding certificate of mailing, certificate of transmission and "Express Mail" procedures to avoid lateness.

 

NOTE REGARDING STATUS OF APPLICATION

 

Current status and status date information is available on-line at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/ or, via push button telephone, for all federal trademark registration and application records maintained in the automated Trademark Reporting and Monitoring (TRAM) system.  The information may be accessed by calling (703) 305-8747 from 6:30 a.m. until midnight, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, and entering a seven-digit registration number or eight-digit application number, followed by the "#" symbol, after the welcoming message and tone.  Callers may request information for up to five registration number or application number records per call.

 

 

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

 

 

FBlandu

Trademark Attorney

/florentina blandu/

l.0.112

tel (703) 308-9112 ext. 104

fax (703) 872-9173

florentina.blandu@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 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.