United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Owner’s Trademark Registration

 

U.S. Registration No. 4665116   Mark:  SLAS
Correspondence Address:         Stephen J. Jeffries        Holland & Knight, LLP        800 17th Street NW, Suite 1100        Washington DC 20006
Owner:  FLORIDA SURPLUS LINES SERVICE OFFICE, IN
Reference/Docket No. 128315.00003          Correspondence Email Address:         stephen.jeffries@hklaw.com

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

 

The USPTO must receive the owner’s response to this letter within the time period specified below.  Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears below.

 

Issue date:  May 19, 2021

 

 

The Section 7 Amendment submitted on 2/16/2021 is not accepted for the reasons set forth below.

 

The proposed amendment to the mark would materially alter the character of the mark and thus cannot be accepted.  15 U.S.C. §1057(e); 37 C.F.R. §2.173(d).  A registered mark can be amended only if the change does not alter the character and commercial impression of the mark, i.e., the change creates essentially the same impression as the original mark.  In re Umax Data System, Inc., 40 USPQ2d 1539 (Comm’r Pats. 1996); TMEP §1609.02(a).

 

The owner seeks to amend the mark in the registration from SLAS and design to SLAS & design.  The proposed amendment would result in a mark with a different visual impression from that of the original mark, i.e., the two marks do not appear as essentially the same mark.  Accordingly, the Section 7 Amendment is not accepted.

 

The owner has six months from the issuance date of this letter to respond to all the issues raised in this letter.  In order to expedite the processing of your Section 7 Amendment, the early submission of a response to this letter is encouraged.  If a complete response is not received in the Office within this time period, then the Section 7 Amendment will be considered abandoned.  37 C.F.R. §2.176.  The fee for filing the Section 7 Amendment will not be refunded.

 

 

 

How to respond.  Click to file a Response to Post-Registration Office action. 

 

Direct questions about this Office action to the Post Registration staff member below.

 

 

/Roberts, Sharon/

Trademark Specialist

Office of Post Registration

571-272-9549 (Office)

Sharon.Roberts@uspto.gov

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an owner’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted or processed.  If the owner does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual owner, all joint owners, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic owner.  If the owner has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

 

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.