UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
SERIAL NO: 76/671722
APPLICANT: MCDONOUGH BRAUNGART DESIGN CHEMISTRY, LL ETC.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: CERTIFIED
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: 302511US-275
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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MAILING/E-MAILING DATE INFORMATION: If the mailing or e-mailing date of this Office action does not appear above, this information can be obtained by visiting the USPTO website at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/, inserting the application serial number, and viewing the prosecution history for the mailing date of the most recently issued Office communication.
Serial Number 76/671722
The assigned trademark examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and has determined the following:
Search Results
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.
However, applicant should note the following procedural requirements.
The application was not signed and verified, which are application requirements. 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a)-(b), 1126(d)-(e), 1141f(a); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33-2.34. Therefore, applicant must submit, in a signed affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, the following statement: “The mark is in use in commerce and was in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application as of the application filing date, and the facts set forth in the application are true and correct.” TMEP §804.02.
If applicant responds to this Office action via TEAS, applicant may satisfy this requirement by adding the required statement (specified immediately above) to the TEAS response form, checking the box for a “signed declaration,” and properly signing the form by either (1) choosing an electronic signature consisting of any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and/or punctuation marks, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol (e.g., /johndoe/), and entering this in the signature block on the response form, or (2) attaching a JPG or PDF image of a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 (see declaration paragraph below) together with a pen-and-ink signature. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(c)(1)(iii); TMEP §804.05.
If applicant responds to this Office action on paper, via regular mail, applicant may satisfy this requirement by providing the following declaration at the end of the response, properly signed and dated:
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 any resulting registration, declares that he/she is properly authorized to execute this application on behalf of the applicant; he/she believes the applicant to be the owner of the trademark/service mark sought to be registered; that the mark is in use in commerce and was in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services listed in the application as of the application filing date; that the facts set forth in the application are true and correct; that to the best of his/her knowledge and belief no other person, firm, corporation, or association has the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form thereof or in such near resemblance thereto as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other person, to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive; and that 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 disclaim the descriptive wording “CERTIFIED” apart from the mark as shown because it merely describes the function of applicant’s certification mark and the goods that are to be certified. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. §1056; TMEP §§1213 and 1213.03(a). Attached are copies of printouts from the USPTO X-Search database, which show examples of third-party registrations of certification marks in which the term “CERTIFIED” was disclaimed.
The computerized printing format for the Office’s Trademark Official Gazette requires a standardized format for a disclaimer. TMEP §1213.08(a)(i). The following is the standard format used by the Office:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “CERTIFIED” apart from the mark as shown.
See In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
When applicant amends the application to use in commerce by submitting an allegation of use, applicant must also submit a copy of the certification standards. 37 C.F.R. §2.45(b); TMEP §1306.06(g)(ii).
If applicant has questions about its application or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned trademark examining attorney directly at the number below.
To expedite prosecution of this application, applicant is encouraged to file its response to this Office action through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), available at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html.
/Y. Isadora Lee/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 107
Phone: 571-272-3897
NOTICE OF NEW PROCEDURE FOR E-MAILED OFFICE ACTIONS: In late spring 2007, for any applicant who authorizes e-mail communication with the USPTO, the USPTO will no longer directly e-mail the actual Office action to the applicant. Instead, upon issuance of an Office action, the USPTO will e-mail the applicant a notice with a link/web address to access the Office action using Trademark Document Retrieval (TDR), which is located on the USPTO website at http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow. The Office action will not be attached to the e-mail notice. Upon receipt of the notice, the applicant can then view and print the actual Office action and any evidentiary attachments using the provided link/web address. TDR is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays and weekends. This new process is intended to eliminate problems associated with e-mailed Office actions that contain numerous attachments.
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.