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:

Per TMEP §403, in relevant part:

If a paper Office action or notice (e.g., a notice of allowance) is returned to the USPTO because the United States Postal Service has not been able to deliver it, the time for response will not be extended unless the USPTO sent the Office action or notice to the wrong address due to a USPTO error.

If the USPTO sent the Office action or notice to the wrong address due to a USPTO error, the USPTO will reissue the Office action or notice and provide the applicant/registrant with a new response period.

The Attorney of record brought to the Office’s attention that the address was entered incorrectly. This was verified. The address has been corrected. This Office Action (copying the previous Office Action below) serves to provide the Applicant with a new response period.

Telephone Response Suggested

Applicant is highly encouraged to telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney to resolve the issues raised in this Office action by examiner’s amendment.

Although a formal response may never be submitted by e-mail, an applicant may communicate informally by phone or e-mail with the trademark examining attorney to agree to a proposed amendment to the application that will immediately place the application in condition for publication for opposition, issuance of a registration, or suspension. See TMEP §707.

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(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

Search Results / No Conflicting Marks

The trademark examining attorney has searched the Office’s database of registered and pending marks and has found no conflicting marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d). TMEP §704.02; see 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).

Summary of Issues that Applicant Must Address

The applicant must address the following issues:

(1) Black and White Drawing Page with Color Claim

(2) Identification/Classification of Goods

(3) Multi-class Advisory and Requirements

Black and White Drawing/Mark with Color Claim

The drawing shows the mark only in black and white; however, applicant has claimed color as a feature of the mark. The USPTO does not accept a black-and-white drawing when an applicant has claimed color as a feature of the mark. TMEP §807.07(a); see 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1). Applications for marks depicted in color must include (1) a drawing showing the mark in color, (2) a complete list of all the colors claimed as a feature of the mark, and (3) a description of the literal and design elements in the mark that specifies where all the colors appear in those elements. 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); see TMEP §807.07(a)-(a)(ii).

Amending a mark to delete color is permitted only if the change would not materially alter the mark. See 37 C.F.R. §2.72; TMEP §807.14. In the present case, color is not material to the commercial impression of the mark; however, any other amendments to the applied-for mark will not be accepted if the changes would materially alter the mark. 37 C.F.R. §2.72; see TMEP §§807.07(e), 807.14 et seq.

Therefore, applicant must clarify whether color is a feature of the mark by satisfying one of the following:

(1) If color is not a feature of the mark, applicant must submit (a) a statement that color is not a feature of the mark and (b) an accurate and concise description of the literal and design elements in the mark, omitting any reference to color. See 37 C.F.R. §2.37; TMEP §§808.01, 808.02. The following mark description is suggested, if accurate:

The mark consists of the letters “GFC” within an oval that consists of two swirling swooshes.

(2) If color is a feature of the mark, applicant must (a) submit a substitute color drawing that agrees with the colors in the color claim, (b) ensure that the color claim lists all the colors that are claimed as a feature of the mark, and (c) submit a statement describing the literal and design elements in the mark that specifies where all the colors appear in those elements. 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); see TMEP §807.07(a)-(a)(ii). Generic color names must be used to describe the colors in the mark, e.g., magenta, yellow, turquoise. TMEP §807.07(a)(i)-(ii). If black, white, and/or gray are not being claimed as a color feature of the mark, applicant must exclude these from the color claim and include in the mark description a statement that the colors black, white, and/or gray represent background, outlining, shading, and/or transparent areas and are not part of the mark. See TMEP §807.07(d). The following color claim and mark description are suggested, if accurate:

Color claim: “The colors black, green and blue are claimed as a feature of the mark.”

Mark description: “The mark consists of the letters “GFC” in black within an oval consisting of a downwardly swirling swoosh in green and an upwardly swirling swoosh in blue.”

TMEP §807.07(e).

Identification/Classification of Goods – Clarification Needed

Certain wording in the identification of goods is indefinite/misclassified and must be clarified. See TMEP §1402.01. Applicant must specify the common commercial or generic name for the goods. If there is no common commercial or generic name, applicant must describe the product and intended consumer as well as its main purpose and intended uses.

(1) “Dried vegetable” are Class 29 goods. (Fresh vegetable are Class 31 goods).

Proper classification of goods and services is a purely administrative matter within the sole discretion of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In re Tee-Pak, Inc., 164 USPQ 88, 89 (TTAB 1969).

Applicant may adopt two (2) or more of the following identifications, if accurate:

Dried vegetables, in Class 29;

Fresh vegetables, in Class 31;

Wine and liquor, in Class 33.

An applicant may amend an identification of goods only to clarify or limit the goods; adding to or broadening the scope of the goods is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07 et seq.

For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and/or services in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html. See TMEP §1402.04.

See attached Id listings re: “dried vegetables” for acceptable identifications, level of specificity required and proper classification, as needed.

Requirements for a Multi-class Application Based on Intent-to-Use (Section 1(b))

For an application with more than one international class, called a “multiple-class application,” an applicant must meet all the requirements below for those international classes based on an intent to use the mark in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(b):

(1) LIST GOODS AND/OR SERVICES BY INTERNATIONAL CLASS: Applicant must list the goods and/or services by international class.

(2) PROVIDE FEES FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL CLASSES: Applicant must submit an application filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee(s) already paid (confirm current fee information at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/tm_fee_info.jsp).

See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).

Note: The applicant has paid for two (2) classes to date.

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

/Gina M. Fink/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 109

gina.fink@uspto.gov

571-272-9275

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 the Trademark Electronic Application System (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 the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the TSDR status screen. If the status shows no change for more than six months, contact the Trademark Assistance Center by e-mail at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or 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/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.