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  76/600712

 

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

Search Results

 

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 1105.01.

 

However, several concerns remain to be addressed.

Disclaimer Required

 

The applicant must insert a disclaimer of DINNERS in the application because the term is descriptive with regard to the goods.  Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. Section 1056; TMEP section 1213

 

The computerized printing format for the Trademark Official Gazette requires a standard form for a disclaimer.   TMEP section 1213.09(a)(i).  A properly worded disclaimer should read as follows:

 

            No claim is made to the exclusive right to use DINNERS apart from the mark as shown.

 

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

 

Please note, a disclaimer does not remove the disclaimed matter from the mark.  It is simply a statement that the applicant does not claim exclusive rights in the disclaimed wording or design apart from the mark as shown in the drawing.

 

Description of the Mark/Color Claim 

 

Please note, the existing description of the mark and color claim must be rewritten to remove references to the Pantone codes. Common color names should be used to describe the colors in the mark, e.g., red, yellow, blue.  Exam Guide 01-03, section I.B.1.

 

Prior Pending Application will not be Printed

 

Applicant’s claim of ownership of Application Serial No. 76527199 will not be printed on any registration which may issue from this application because only claims of ownership of pertinent live registrations are printed.  If the claimed pending application registers before this application, then applicant may claim ownership of it by registration number.  37 C.F.R. §2.36; TMEP §812.

 

Registration Symbol in Drawing 

 

Applicant must submit a new drawing with the registration symbol deleted because it is not part of the mark.  TMEP §§807.04 and 807.15.

 

NOTICE:  FEE CHANGE   

 

Effective January 31, 2005 and pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. 108-447, the following are the fees that will be charged for filing a trademark application:

 

(1) $325 per international class if filed electronically using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS); or 

 

(2)   $375 per international class if filed on paper

 

These fees will be charged not only when a new application is filed, but also when payments are made to add classes to an existing application. If such payments are submitted with a TEAS response, the fee will be  $325 per class, and if such payments are made with a paper response, the fee will be $375 per class.

 

The new fee requirements will apply to any fees filed on or after January 31, 2005.

 

NOTICE:  TRADEMARK OPERATION RELOCATION

 

The Trademark Operation has relocated to Alexandria, Virginia.  Effective October 4, 2004, all Trademark-related paper mail (except documents sent to the Assignment Services Division for recordation, certain documents filed under the Madrid Protocol, and requests for copies of trademark documents) must be sent to:

 

Commissioner for Trademarks

P.O. Box 1451

Alexandria, VA  22313-1451

 

Applicants, attorneys and other Trademark customers are strongly encouraged to correspond with the USPTO online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html.

 

 

John T. Lincoski /JTL/

Trademark Attorney

Law Office 113

(571)272-9436

 

 

 

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS OFFICE ACTION:

• ONLINE RESPONSE:  You may respond formally using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Response to Office Action form (visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html and follow the instructions, but if the Office Action issued via email you must wait 72 hours after receipt of the Office Action to respond via TEAS).
• REGULAR MAIL RESPONSE:  To respond by regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing return address above and include the serial number, law office number and examining attorney’s name in your response.

 

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.

 

din·ner

 
din·ner (dîn¹er) noun

1.    a. The chief meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday. b. A banquet or formal meal in honor of a person or an event. c. The food prepared for either of these meals.

2.    A full-course meal served at a fixed price; table d'hôte.

 

noun, attributive

Often used to modify another noun: dinner dishes; dinner music; dinner attire.

 [Middle English diner, morning meal, from Old French disner, diner, to dine, morning meal. See dine.]

 Word History: Eating foods such as pizza and ice cream for breakfast may be justified by the fact that in Middle English dinner meant “breakfast,” as did the Old French word disner, or diner, which was the source of our word. The Old French word came from the Vulgar Latin word ·disiúnâre, meaning “to break one's fast; that is, to eat one's first meal,” a notion also contained in our word breakfast. The Vulgar Latin word was derived from an earlier word, ·disiêiúnâre, the Latin elements of which are dis-, denoting reversal, and iêiúnium, “fast.” Middle English diner not only meant “breakfast” but, echoing usage of the Old French word diner, more commonly meant “the first big meal of the day, usually eaten between 9 A.M. and noon.” Customs change, however, and over the years we have let the chief meal become the last meal of the day, by which time we have broken our fast more than once.[1]