Offc Action Outgoing

The statement of use filed on August 4, 2011 does not meet the minimum filing requirements and is not accepted for the reason(s) set forth below. Applicant may respond to this Office action by correcting the deficiencies noted below. To avoid abandonment of the application, applicant’s response to this Office action must be received in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) within (1) thirty (30) days of the issuance date of this letter, or (2) before the deadline for filing a statement of use or the previously granted extension period, whichever is longer. 37 C.F.R. §2.88.

STATEMENT OF USE IS DEFICIENT AS FOLLOWS:

If the response is received in the Office after the due date, the application will be abandoned.

NO SPECIMEN SUBMITTED: The required specimen showing use of the proposed mark in commerce for the goods and/or services identified in the notice of allowance was not submitted with the statement of use. A specimen showing use of the mark in commerce is one of the minimum filing requirements for a statement of use. 15 U.S.C. §1051(d); 37 C.F.R. §2.88(e)(2); TMEP §§1109.06, 1109.09(b).

Only if there is time remaining in the statutory period for filing the statement of use can an applicant submit a specimen for the statement of use. The specimen must be accompanied by a statement that “the specimen was in use in commerce before expiration of the deadline for filing the statement of use,” and this statement must be properly verified by an affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, and personally signed by applicant or a person authorized to sign on behalf of applicant.

Examples of specimens for goods are tags, labels, instruction manuals, containers, photographs that show the mark on the goods or packaging, or displays associated with the goods at their point of sale. TMEP §904. Examples of specimens for services are signs, photographs, brochures, website printouts or advertisements that show the mark used in the sale or advertising of the services. See TMEP §§1301.04 et seq.

SAMPLE DECLARATION TO ACCOMPANY A SPECIMEN(S): The following statement and declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 can be used to satisfy the requirement for a verified specimen, personally signed and dated by applicant or a person authorized to sign on behalf of applicant under 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(1):

The specimen was in use in commerce before expiration of the deadline for filing the statement of use; the undersigned being warned that willful false statements and the like 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 this document, declares that s/he is properly authorized to execute this document on behalf of the applicant; and all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.

______________________________

Signature

______________________________

Print/Type Name and Position

______________________________

Date

FILER’S NAME DIFFERS FROM CURRENT OWNER NAME – CLARIFICATION REQUIRED: The owner of the mark shown in Office records is “Pink Jeep Tours – Las Vegas;” however, the party who filed the statement of use is identified as “Pink Jeep Tours – Las Vegas, Alix Reed.” The name difference appears to be a mistake in the manner in which the applicant’s name is set forth and may be the type of mistake that may be corrected by amending the owner name in the statement of use. See TMEP §1201.02(c). If the current owner of record filed the statement of use but improperly identified itself, applicant may amend the owner name in the statement of use to agree with the name of the current owner identified in the Office records, if appropriate. Id.

Applicant is strongly encouraged to review Section 1201.02(c) of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) to confirm that the error is correctible and notify the undersigned accordingly. The TMEP is available online at the USPTO website at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/tmdb/tmep/.

Please note that a statement of use cannot be amended to designate a different legal entity. If the party who filed the statement of use is the current owner but not the owner of record, then evidence to establish ownership can be provided after expiration of the deadline for filing the statement of use. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.88(b)(1), (e)(3), 3.71, 3.73; TMEP §1109.10. However, if the party who filed the statement of use is not the owner of the applied-for-mark as of the filing date of the statement of use, then the statement of use is void and cannot be corrected by amendment. See Huang v. Tzu Wei Chen Food Co. Ltd., 849 F.2d 1458, 7 USPQ2d 1335 (Fed. Cir. 1988); Great Seats, Ltd. v. Great Seats, Inc., 84 USPQ2d 1235, (TTAB 2007).

FILER WAS OWNER: If the filer of the statement of use was the owner at the time of filing, this party must submit a response to this Office action that explains the difference in the owner name, and attach a substitute statement of use that names the proper owner.

FILER WAS NOT OWNER: If the filer of the statement of use was not the owner of the mark at the time of filing and:

(1) there is time remaining in the statutory period, the true owner must file a new statement of use within the statutory period to avoid abandonment of the application. 15 U.S.C. §1051(d); 37 C.F.R. §2.88. The time for filing a statement of use expires on January 12, 2012; or

(2) there is no time remaining in the statutory period, the application will be abandoned and the true owner may file a petition to revive the application under 37 C.F.R. §2.66.

ENSURE TIMELY SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES AND PETITIONS: Please note that the filing date of a document in the United States Patent and Trademark Office is the date of receipt in the Office, not the date of deposit in the mail. 37 C.F.R. §2.195. To avoid lateness due to mail delay, applicant is encouraged to submit its response by fax, using a certificate of facsimile transmission on the response. The fax number is 571-273-9394.

The following is a properly worded certificate of facsimile transmission. Applicant should add this certificate, properly completed, to its response before transmission.

CERTIFICATE OF FAX TRANSMISSION:

I hereby certify that this correspondence is being facsimile transmitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the date below.

________________________________

Signature

________________________________

Print/Type Name of Signer

________________________________

Date

If applicant intends to submit its response via regular mail, then applicant is encouraged to use a certificate of mailing on the submitted documents. 37 C.F.R. §2.197. The following is a properly worded certificate of mailing for responses submitted on paper by regular mail.

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING:

I hereby certify that this correspondence is being deposited with the United States Postal Service with sufficient postage as first class mail in an envelope addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1451, on the date below.

________________________________

Signature

________________________________

Print/Type Name of Signer

________________________________

Date

There is time remaining in the statutory time period for filing a statement of use. Applicant must respond to the outstanding issues raised in this Office action within the specified time period to avoid abandonment of the application.

Please call the undersigned with any questions.

/Amphone M. Sananikone/

Amphone Mary Sananikone

Paralegal Specialist

ITU/Divisional Unit

(571) 272-9394

(571) 273-9394 Fax

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: Use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Office action form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageD.htm. Please wait 48-72 hours from the issue/mailing date before using TEAS, to allow for necessary system updates of the application. For technical assistance with online forms, e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov.

WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE: It must be personally signed by (1) an individual applicant; (2) someone with legal authority to bind applicant (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint applicants); or (3) an authorized attorney, if one is appointed to represent applicant. If an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response.

TEAS PLUS APPLICATION: To maintain the reduced fee status, TEAS Plus applicant must respond online via TEAS. Otherwise, applicant is subject to an additional $50 fee for each class. 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1)(iv) and 2.23(a)(1)(i).

PERIODICALLY CHECK THE STATUS OF THE APPLICATION: To ensure that applicant does not miss crucial deadlines or official notices, check the status of the application every three to four months using Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the complete TARR screen. If TARR shows no change for more than six months, call 1-800-786-9199. For more information on checking status, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/.

TO UPDATE CORRESPONDENCE/E-MAIL ADDRESS: Use the TEAS form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageE.htm.

FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED ITU STAFF MEMBER IDENTIFIED ABOVE.