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 76/609554

 

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

 

No Conflicting Marks Found

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. §1052(d).  TMEP §704.02.  However, the applicant must address the following informalities.

 

Identification and Classification of Services

Applicant must amend the identification of services to delete the term "retail sales" and to indicate with greater specificity the nature of the service, e.g., retail store services featuring roofer’s equipment, mail order retail services featuring roofer’s equipment, or on-line retail store services featuring roofer’s equipment.  The term "sales" in the identification of services is unacceptable because selling is not considered a service that is rendered for the benefit of someone other than applicant.  In re Canadian Pacific Limited, 754 F.2d 992, 224 USPQ 971 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Betz Paperchem, Inc., 222 USPQ 89 (TTAB 1984); In re Integrated Resources, Inc., 218 USPQ 829 (TTAB 1983); TMEP §§1301.01 et seq.

 

In addition, applicant must correct the classification of the services in the application and amend the application to classify them in International Class 035.   37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(7) and 2.85; TMEP §§1401.02(a) and 1401.03(b).

 

Drawing - Stylized Form and Standard Character Form Distinguished

The drawing appears to have been submitted as a typed drawing.  However, the Trademark Rules pertaining to drawings were amended on November 2, 2003.  Although the drawing appears to conform to the earlier requirements for a typed drawing, the applicant did not submit a standard character claim and therefore is presumed to have chosen a drawing depicting words, letters or numbers in stylized form.

 

The applicant may wish to amend to a standard character drawing.  In a standard character drawing, the mark on the drawing consists of only words, letters or numbers, but does not include any designs or claims as to particular font style, size, or color.  A registration for a mark using a standard character drawing affords protection not only for the standard character version of the mark, but for any possible renderings of the mark, as long as those renderings do not contain any design elements; i.e., a registered standard character drawing of the mark gives protection for display on the specimens in any lettering style.  37 C.F.R. §2.52; Exam Guide 01-03, section I; See TMEP §§807.06 et seq. and TMEP §807.07 et seq.

 

If the applicant wishes to claim a standard character drawing, the applicant must submit the following standard character claim:  “The mark is presented in standard character format without claim to any particular font style, size, or color.”  37 C.F.R. §2.52(a).

 

Disclaimer

Trademark Act Section 6(a), 15 U.S.C. §1056(a), permits the Office to require a disclaimer of an unregistrable component of a mark.  Trademark Act Section 2(e), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e), bars the registration of a mark which is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive of the goods. Therefore, the examining attorney may require the disclaimer of a portion of a mark which, when used in connection with the goods or services, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive.  If an applicant does not comply with a disclaimer requirement, the examining attorney may refuse registration of the entire mark.  TMEP §1213.01(b).

 

The applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording “ROOF” apart from the mark as shown. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. §1056; TMEP §§1213 and 1213.03(a).  The wording is merely descriptive because the applicant’s services feature roofer’s equipment.

 

A properly worded disclaimer should read as follows:

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

 

 

 

/allison holtz/

Allison Holtz

Examining Attorney, Law Office 111

(571)272-9383

 

 

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.

 

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.