Offc Action Outgoing

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT OF APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION, THE USPTO MUST RECEIVE APPLICANT’S COMPLETE RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE ISSUE/MAILING DATE BELOW.

ISSUE/MAILING DATE:

THIS IS A FINAL ACTION.

This letter responds to the applicant’s correspondence filed on January 17, 2012.

Final Dates of Use Refusal

In the applicant’s office action the applicant states that the Statement of Use should be valid because the dates of use have been changed. Unfortunately, the dates of us stated on the correspondence are later than the filing of the Statement of Use. The refusal is maintained and made FINAL.

Registration is refused because applicant had not used the mark in commerce at the time the statement of use was filed. See 15 U.S.C. §1051(d)(1); 37 C.F.R. §2.88(b)(1)(ii); TMEP §§1109.09(a), 1109.16(a). Specifically, the statement of use sets forth dates of first use of the mark that are after the date on which the statement of use was filed. The applicant filed the Statement of Use on November 21, 2011. The applicant states that the accurate dates of use for both the date of first use and the date of first use in commerce are December 22, 2011.

If applicant used the mark in commerce prior to the expiration of the time allowed for filing a statement of use, then applicant may correct the dates of use, and the trademark examining attorney will withdraw this refusal. Applicant must verify the corrected dates of use with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(c); TMEP §§903.04, 1109.09(a); see 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(1).

Applicant may not withdraw the statement of use. 37 C.F.R. §2.88(g); TMEP §§903.04, 1109.17.

The refusal is maintained and made FINAL.

Response Guidelines

If applicant does not respond within six months of the date of issuance of this final Office action, the application will be abandoned. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a). Applicant may respond to this final Office action by:

(1) Submitting a response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements, if feasible; and/or

(2) Filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with an appeal fee of $100 per class.

37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(18), 2.64(a); TBMP ch. 1200; TMEP §714.04.

In certain rare circumstances, a petition to the Director may be filed pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review a final Office action that is limited to procedural issues. 37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(b); TBMP §1201.05; TMEP §1704 (explaining petitionable matters). The petition fee is $100. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).

/Dawn Feldman Lehker/

Trademark Examining Attorney

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

dawn.feldman-lehker@uspto.gov

(571) 272-9381

F (571)273-9111

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: Go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp. 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. For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney. E-mail communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by e-mail.

All informal e-mail communications relevant to this application will be placed in the official application record.

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

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.