UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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SERIAL NO: 76/610229
APPLICANT: N2 Broadband, Inc.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: WHAT ARE YOU OPEN2?
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: N/A
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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Serial Number 76/610229
The assigned examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and determined the following.
For each class of services, applicant must submit (1) one substitute specimen showing the mark as it is used in commerce in the sale or advertising of the services, AND (2) a statement that “the substitute specimen was in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application,” verified with a notarized affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. 37 C.F.R. §§2.56 and 2.59(a); TMEP §904.09.
The current specimen of record is a single page depicting a photograph of a bird and swimming pool and the sentence, “If it’s not open you’re dead” and is unacceptable as evidence of actual service mark use because while “What are you open2?” is very faint, it is barely visible toward the bottom center of the page. However, there is no connection or association between “What are you open 2?” and the identified services. Examples of acceptable specimens for services are signs, photographs, brochures, website printouts or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services. TMEP §§1301.04 et seq.
Pending an adequate response to the above, registration is refused because the specimens of record do not show use of the proposed mark as a service mark. Trademark Act Sections 1, 3 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1053 and 1127; TMEP §§904.11 and 1301.02 et seq.
This refusal will be withdrawn if applicant submits, for each class of services, (1) one substitute specimen showing proper service mark use of the proposed mark in the sale or advertising of the services, AND (2) a statement that “the substitute specimen was in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application,” verified with a notarized affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. 37 C.F.R. §2.59(a); TMEP §904.09.
A service mark specimen must show use of the mark “in the sale or advertising of services.” Trademark Act Section 45, 15 U.S.C. §1127; 37 C.F.R. §2.56. Therefore, a specimen is unacceptable if it does not show use of the service mark in relation to the identified services. There must be a direct association between the mark sought to be registered and the services specified in the application, with sufficient reference to the services in the specimen to create this association. In re Monograms America, Inc., 51 USPQ2d 1317 (TTAB 1999); In re Adair, 45 USPQ2d 1211 (TTAB 1997); In re Restonic Corp., 189 USPQ 248 (TTAB 1975); TMEP §§1301.04 et seq.
The following is a sample declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 with a supporting statement for a substitute specimen:
The undersigned being warned that willful false statements and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. §1001, and that such willful false statements and the like may jeopardize the validity of the application or document or any registration resulting there from, declares that the substitute specimens were in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application; all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true; and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
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(Signature)
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(Print or Type Name and Position)
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(Date)
Applicant must submit the following standard character claim: “The mark is presented in standard characters without claim to any particular font style, size, or color.” 37 C.F.R. §2.52(a).
In Class 35, the identification of services, “back office support services in the field of digital cable television,” is unacceptable as indefinite and too broad as they could include services in more than one class, e.g., back office accounts payable debiting services and back office accounts receivables financing services would be in Class 36. The applicant must amend the recitation to specify the common commercial name of the back office services or to indicate their nature. TMEP §1402.11.
If accurate, applicant may amend this to:
Class 35 Back office support services in the field of digital cable television, namely, monitoring and management of billing and customer service systems for communications network operators to support digital television services.
In Class 38, the identification of services, “distribution of digital video content over telecommunications networks,” is unacceptable as indefinite. The applicant must amend the recitation to specify the common commercial name of the services or to indicate their nature. TMEP §1402.11.
If accurate, applicant may amend this to:
Class 42 Engineering consultation in the area of broadband networking; computerized management of digital video content in cable television and other television distribution systems; troubleshooting and technical support of hardware and software used for telecommunications; monitoring of telecommunications hardware and software for the purpose of identifying and rectifying problems with the telecommunications hardware and software
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 services that are not within the scope of the services recited in the present identification.
For assistance with identifying goods and/or services in trademark applications, please see the online searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html.
The applicant must rewrite the identification and classification of services in its entirety because of the nature and extent of the amendment. 37 C.F.R. §2.74(b).
If applicant prosecutes this application as a combined, or multiple‑class application, then applicant must comply with each of the requirements below for those goods and/or services based on actual use in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(a):
(1) Applicant must list the goods/services by international class with the classes listed in ascending numerical order;
(2) Applicant must submit a filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee already paid; and
(3) For each additional class of goods and/or services, applicant must submit:
(a) dates of first use of the mark anywhere and dates of first use of the mark in commerce, or a statement that the dates of use in the initial application apply to that class; the dates of use, both anywhere and in commerce, must be at least as early as the filing date of the application;
(b) one specimen showing use of the mark for each class of goods and/or services; the specimen must have been in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application;
(c) a statement that “the specimen was in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application at least as early as the filing date of the application;” and
(d) verification of the statements in 3(a) and 3(c) in an affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. (NOTE: Verification is not required where (1) the dates of use for the added class are stated to be the same as the dates of use specified in the initial application, or (2) the original specimens are acceptable for the added class.)
37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.34(a), 2.59, 2.71(c), and 2.86(a); TMEP §§810.10, 904.09, 1403.01 and 1403.02(c).
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. Additional search of Office records or examination on the merits of the application may be required after applicant responds. 37 C.F.R. Section 2.61(b); TMEP sections 814 and 1402.01(d).
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.
/Mary Rossman/, Trademark Attorney
Law Office 108
Phone: 571 272 9213
Fax (for official responses ONLY): 571 273 9108
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.