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.

The Office has reassigned this application to the undersigned trademark examining attorney.

This Office Action replies to applicant’s response dated October , 2016. In its response applicant amended the identification of goods. The new examining attorney has considered the applicant's amendments which are accepted in-part and rejected in-part as specifically discussed below. As no new issues have been raised in the response the requirement for a definite identification for all classes is maintained and now made FINAL.

Identification & Classification of Goods:

Some of the wording in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because they could identify goods classified in other classes. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant must amend the identification to specify the common commercial name of the goods. If there is no common commercial name, applicant must describe the product and its intended uses. Additionally, elements of the identifications are beyond the scope of the original identifications as specifically indicated below. Applicant’s goods may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:

Spanners; screwdrivers; adjustable spanners; wrenches; hand-operated nail extractors; nippers; pliers; cutting pliers; hand-operated pincers; shovels; gardening trowels; snow shovels; gardening scissors; metal-cutting scissors, namely, tin shears; scissors; wool shears; hair cutting scissors; kitchen knives; folding knives; glass cutters; carving knives; table knives; fire tongs; palette knives; cleaning tools, namely rakes, in International Class 8

Containers for transport, not of metal; (delete or move “plastic hand-held shopping baskets” to class 21) tool boxes, not of metal sold empty, (delete as redundant “namely, tool storage boxes, not of metal,”) for storing hand tools and electric tools, fitting of metal, machine elements, components and parts in the nature of screws and nails; furniture, namely, bookstands and cabinets for furniture and offices; storage (add “drawers and delete “boxes,” as beyond the scope of the original identification) not of metal, (delete as redundant “namely, storage boxes”) for storing outdoor goods, camping outfits, fishing tackle, car supplies, shoes, clothing, daily necessities, convenience goods, kitchen utensils, washing utensils, office stationery, gardening supplies, handicraft supplies and toys; flower-pot pedestals; industrial work tables, in International Class 20

Kitchen (add “containers” and delete “utensils” as the identified goods are containers not utensils), namely, box type and bag type portable coolers (add “and” and delete “;”) water jugs in the nature of hot or cold insulating small tanks for beverages with filling ports, portable water tanks[;] (add “kitchen utensils, namely,” tongs (delete “and cold packs” as beyond the scope of the original identification); cleaning tools and washing utensils, namely, (delete “rakes,” or move to class 8) buckets with lids, and laundry baskets; fire pans for carrying live charcoal, namely, coal scuttles; gotoku (trivets for Japanese charcoal heaters for household purposes); Hikeshi-tsubo, namely, Japanese charcoal extinguishers; flower pots; watering cans; non-electric watering devices, namely, nozzles for watering hose; gardening water diffuser, namely, lawn sprinklers, garden sprinklers and field sprinklers; plastic hand-held shopping baskets, in International Class 21

Applicant’s goods and/or services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different goods and/or services or add goods and/or services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended. See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b). The scope of the goods and/or services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification. TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b). Any acceptable changes to the goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted. TMEP §1402.07(e).

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.

The applicant should use the listings located in this database exactly as worded if possible. Please note that use by the applicant of parenthesis within an identification of the goods is unacceptable as indefinite. With regard to those listings in the Office’s database that include terms within parenthesis and/or brackets, the applicant must set forth the term(s) that specifically cover the applicant’s goods or services. As always, any identification of goods or recitation of services the applicant chooses to adopt should 1) accurately describe the applicant’s goods or services; 2) be placed in the correct class of goods or services; and 3) list only those goods or services within the scope of those included in the original application.

This requirement is continued and is now made FINAL.

Phone or E-mail Response:

Applicant is 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 the USPTO will not accept a formal response 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 37 C.F.R. §2.62(c); TMEP §707.

Responding to a FINAL Refusal:

Applicant must respond within six months of the date of issuance of this final Office action or the application will be abandoned. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a). Applicant may respond by providing one or both of the following:

(1) A response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements and/or resolves all outstanding refusals.

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

37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(1)-(2); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(18); TBMP ch. 1200.

In certain rare circumstances, an applicant may respond by filing a petition to the Director pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review procedural issues. 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).

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.

/JSD/

Jeffrey S. DeFord

Examining Attorney

Law Office 115

United States Patent & Trademark Office

(571) 272-9469