UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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SERIAL NO: 76/611155
APPLICANT: Amateur Athletic Union of the United Sta ETC.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS:
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Commissioner for TrademarksP.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: SOUTHERN NEVADA AAU
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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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EXAMINER’S AMENDMENT/PRIORITY ACTION
RESPONSE TIME LIMIT: To avoid abandonment, the Office must receive a proper response to this Office action within 6 months of the mailing or e-mailing date. If applicant responds to the issues below within two months of the above mailing or e-mailing date, this case will be given priority handling.
OFFICE RECORDS SEARCH: The Office records have been searched and no similar registered or pending mark has been found that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02.
ADVISORY – AMENDMENTS TO GOODS/SERVICES: If the goods and/or services have been amended below, any future amendments must be in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a) and TMEP §1402.07(e).
QUESTIONS: Please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney with any questions.
Serial Number 76/611155
AMENDMENT(S) AUTHORIZED: As authorized by attorney or record on April 19, 2005, the application is amended as noted below. If applicant disagrees with or objects to any of the amendments below, please notify the undersigned trademark examining attorney immediately. Otherwise, no response is necessary. TMEP §707.
The claim of prior registrations has been amended to add the wording “and others” at the end of the statement. The claim of prior registrations now states as follows: “Applicant is the owner of U.S. Registration Nos. 0791171, 0881944, 2394924 and others”
Applicant must respond to each refusal and/or requirement raised below. If applicant responds to the issues below within two months of the above mailing or e-mailing date, this case will be given priority handling. TMEP §§708.01 and 708.05.
Recitation and Classification of Services
The wording “certifying” is unacceptable as indefinite. The nature of this service is unclear. The applicant must better describe this service. Moreover, this service along with several of the other listed services falls into other international classes. The applicant may adopt the following recitation and classification, if accurate:
International Class 35: Promoting and administering amateur athletic programs and activities for others; maintaining records regarding record performances of amateur athletes
International Class 41: Organizing, sponsoring, and conducting amateur athletic programs and activities; instituting and awarding amateur athletic championships
International Class 42: Sanctioning, regulating and governing amateur athletic programs and activities; establishing and maintaining by registration a uniform standard of amateur athletic standing for athletes; regulating amateur athletic championships; verifying record performances of amateur athletes; reviewing qualifications of officials to verify record performances of athletes and record the same (this last service is the suggestion for the wording “certifying” as used in reference to qualifications of official, in the original recitation)
TMEP §1402.11.
Please note that, while the identification of services may be amended to clarify or limit the services, adding to the services or broadening the scope of the services is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Therefore, applicant may not amend the identification to include services that are not within the scope of the services set forth in the present identification.
Combined Applications
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).
Please note that the specimen(s) of record are not acceptable for any of the classes. See below.
Specimen
The specimen does not show use of the mark submitted in the application. Nowhere in the application does the mark SOUTHERN NEVADA AAU, actually appear. The specimen depicts the portion of the mark AAU and on one page it lists the various geographic localities where it is presumed the services are offered, Southern Nevada being one of them. However, it does not show the two terms together as depicted in the drawing. Therefore, the applicant must submit a specimen showing use of the mark for the services specified. 37 C.F.R. §2.56; TMEP §904. The applicant must verify, with an affidavit or a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, that the substitute specimen was in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application. 37 C.F.R. §2.59(a); TMEP §904.09.
As stated earlier, this requirement applies to each class of services.
If applicant cannot comply with the requirement for substitute and/or additional specimen(s) for the Section 1(a) basis asserted, then applicant may substitute a different basis for filing if applicant can meet the requirements for the new basis. See TMEP §§806.03 et seq.
In this case, applicant may wish to amend the application to assert a Section 1(b) basis.
Where an application is based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, applicant must submit the following statement:
Applicant has had a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services listed in the application as of the filing date of the application.
This statement must be verified with a notarized affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §§2.20 and 2.33. Trademark Act Section 1(b), 15 U.S.C. §1051(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(2); TMEP §806.01(b).
The following is a properly worded declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. At the end of the response, the applicant should insert the declaration signed by a person authorized to sign under 37 C.F.R. §2.33(a).
The undersigned, being hereby warned that willful false statements and the like so made 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 resulting registration, declares that the facts set forth in this application are true; all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true; and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
_____________________________
(Signature)
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(Print or Type Name and Position)
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(Date)
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.
Sincerely,
/Jean H. Im/
Trademark Attorney
Law Office 105
(571) 272-9303
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