Offc Action Outgoing

The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue(s) below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62, 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

No Conflicting Marks Found

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.

Identification of Services

The identification of services is indefinite and must be clarified because it is too broad and does not adequately convey the nature of the applicant’s services. See TMEP §1402.01. Specifically, “billing” is a Class 035 business service while “debt collection” is a Class 036 financial service.

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:

Class 035: Online billing

Class 036: Online payment collection services for others

See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.

Please note that, while the identification of goods may be amended to clarify or limit the goods, adding to the goods or broadening the scope of the goods is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Therefore, applicant may not amend the identification to include goods that are not within the scope of the goods set forth in the present identification.

For assistance with identifying and classifying 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.

Multi-Class Application Requirements

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;

(2) Applicant must submit a filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee already paid (current fee information should be confirmed at http://www.uspto.gov); and

(3) For each additional international 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 the mark in use in commerce 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. If a single specimen supports multiple classes, applicant should indicate which classes the specimen supports rather than providing multiple copies of the same specimen. Examples of specimens for goods are tags, labels, instruction manuals, containers, photographs that show the mark on the actual goods or packaging, or displays associated with the actual goods at their point of sale. See TMEP §§904.03 et seq. Examples of specimens for services are signs, photographs, brochures, website printouts or advertisements that show the mark used in the actual sale or advertising of the services. See TMEP §§1301.04 et seq.;

(c) The following statement: “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) (above) in an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. 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, and (2) the original specimens are acceptable for the added class(es).

See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a), 1112, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(5), 2.34(a)(1), 2.56(a), 2.71(c), 2.86(a), 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).

With respect to the requirement in 3(b) above for a specimen for each class of goods and/or services, please note that the specimen(s) of record is acceptable for International Class 035 only. Applicant must submit additional specimens if other classes are added to the application.

Applicant’s Response

If applicant should fail to respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, then the following goods and/or services will be deleted from the application: Online payment collection services for others. The application will then proceed with the following goods and/or services only: Online billing. 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a).

If applicant has questions about its application or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned trademark examining attorney.

/Jessica A. Powers/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 104

Phone Number (571) 272-7183

Fax Number (571) 273-7183

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.