UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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SERIAL NO: 76/611185
APPLICANT: Amateur Athletic Union of the United Sta ETC.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS:
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Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: NORTH CAROLINA 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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PRIORITY ACTION
OFFICE SEARCH: 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.
FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY.
Serial Number 76/611185
The following issues were discussed in communication with Ronnie L. Jordan on April 14, 2005.
The specimen of record is unacceptable as evidence of actual service mark use because it does not show use of the mark in connection with the services identified. Therefore, the applicant must submit a substitute specimen showing the mark as it is used in commerce in connection with the services identified. 37 C.F.R. §2.56. Examples of acceptable specimens are signs, photographs, brochures or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services. TMEP §§1301.04 et seq. 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. 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 may jeopardize the validity of the application 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)
_____________________________
(Date)
If the applicant cannot supply the required specimen to support the stated Section 1(a) basis, the applicant may wish to consider amending the basis for the application to Section 1(b).
II. AMENDMENT TO THE RECITATION OF SERVICES REQUIRED
The recitation of services is unacceptable as indefinite because it does not indicate the common commercial names for all of the services, and because it includes services in different international classes. The applicant may adopt the following recitation, if accurate: “promoting and administering amateur athletic programs and activities for others; maintaining records regarding record performances of amateur athletes in International Class 35; organizing, sponsoring, and conducting amateur athletic programs and activities; instituting and awarding amateur athletic championships in International Class 41; establishing and maintaining by registration a uniform standard of amateur athletic standing for athletes; verifying record performances of amateur athletes; reviewing qualifications of officials to verify record performances of athletes and record the same; sanctioning, regulating and governing amateur athletic programs and activities; regulating amateur athletic championships in International Class 42.” TMEP section 1301.05. 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.
If the applicant prosecutes this application as a combined, or multiple‑class, application based on use in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(a), 15 U.S.C. §1051(a), the applicant must comply with each of the following:
(1) The applicant must specifically identify the services in each class and list the services by international class with the classes listed in ascending numerical order. TMEP §1403.01.
(2) The applicant must submit a filing fee for each international class of services not covered by the fee already paid. 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1) and 2.86(b); TMEP §§810.01 and 1403.01. The filing fee for adding classes to an application is as follows: $325 per class, when the fees are submitted with a response filed online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html; and $375 per class, when the fees are submitted with a paper response. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. 108-447.
(3) The applicant must submit:
(a) dates of first use and first use in commerce and one specimen for each class that includes services based on use in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(a). The dates of use must be at least as early as the filing date of this application, 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1) and 2.86(a), and the specimen(s) must have been in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application, and/or
(b) a statement of a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with all the goods or services specified in each class that includes goods or services based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(b), where such statement was not included for the goods or services in the original application.
(4) The applicant must submit an affidavit or a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 signed by the applicant to verify (3) above. 37 C.F.R. §§2.59(a) and 2.71(c). See suggested declaration above.
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.
/Zhaleh Delaney/
Trademark Attorney
Law Office 116
(571) 272-9153
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