UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
SERIAL NO: 76/672559
MARK: ISLANDERS PRIDE
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RESPOND TO THIS ACTION: http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageD.htm
GENERAL TRADEMARK INFORMATION: http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm
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APPLICANT: Hsu, Peter
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, THE OFFICE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE ISSUE/MAILING DATE.
However, there are still outstanding issues to be resolved before the application may be approved for publication.
SEARCH FOR CONFLICTING MARKS
Since the application has a new effective filing date of May 19, 2008 the trademark examining attorney conducted another search for potentially conflicting marks. The Office records have been searched and there are no similar registered or pending marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02.
Applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording “VIRGIN COCONUT OIL” apart from the mark as shown because it merely describes a feature of the goods. Specifically, the goods consist of “virgin coconut oil” used for multiple purposes in International Classes 1, 3, 5 and 29. Therefore, the wording is descriptive of a feature of the goods and must be disclaimed. See 15 U.S.C. §1056(a); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a).
Failure to comply with a disclaimer requirement can result in a refusal to register the entire mark. TMEP §1213.01(b).
A “disclaimer” is a statement that applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of a mark. TMEP§1213. A disclaimer does not affect the appearance of the applied-for mark. See TMEP§1213.10.
The following cases further explain the disclaimer requirement: Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 21 USPQ2d 1047 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Kraft, Inc., 218 USPQ 571 (TTAB 1983).
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “VIRGIN COCONUT OIL” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
FEES DUE
Therefore, applicant must either (1) submit the fee for each class not covered by the amount already paid, or (2) amend the application to delete the class(es) for which the required fee has not been paid.
The additional fee must be paid within the time period for response to this action. See TMEP §§1109.02, 1109.15.
The filing fee for adding classes to an application is as follows:
(1) $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; or
(2) $375 per class, when the fees are submitted with a paper response.
37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(i)-(a)(1)(ii); TMEP §810.
/Julie M. Guttadauro/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 106
(571) 272-5875
(571) 273-9106 (Fax)
RESPOND TO THIS ACTION: Applicant should file a response to this Office action online using the form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageD.htm, waiting 48-72 hours if applicant received notification of the Office action via e-mail. For technical assistance with the form, please e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov. For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned examining attorney. Do not respond to this Office action by e-mail; the USPTO does not accept e-mailed responses.
If responding by paper mail, please include the following information: the application serial number, the mark, the filing date and the name, title/position, telephone number and e-mail address of the person signing the response. Please use the following address: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451.
STATUS CHECK: Check the status of the application at least once every six months from the initial filing date using the USPTO Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) online system at http://tarr.uspto.gov. When conducting an online status check, print and maintain a copy of the complete TARR screen. If the status of your application has not changed for more than six months, please contact the assigned examining attorney.