Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

Serial Number  77/106154

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

 

The assigned examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and determined the following:

 

EARLIER-FILED APPLICATIONS

 

Although the Trademark Office records have been searched and no similar registered mark has been found that would bar registration under Trademark Act §2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d), enclosed is information regarding pending Application Serial Nos. 76/467746 and 77/075240.  37 C.F.R. §2.83. 

 

The filing dates of the referenced applications precede the applicant’s filing date, and there may be a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s proposed mark and the marks in the above-noted applications.  If one or more of the earlier-filed applications matures into a registration, registration may be refused under §2(d).

 

If the applicant chooses to respond to this office action, the applicant must also address the following issue:

 

FOREIGN REGISTRATION

 

The copy of the foreign registration is not legible.  An application filed under §44(e) of the Trademark Act must include a legible true copy, photocopy, certification or certified copy of a foreign registration, or a registered extension of protection of an international registration from the applicant’s country of origin, as well as a copy of the renewal certificate, if appropriate.  15 U.S.C. §1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(3)(ii); TMEP §§1004 et seq. 

 

Applicant’s country of origin must be a party to a convention or treaty relating to trademarks to which the United States is also a party, or must extend reciprocal registration rights to nationals of the United States by law.  See TMEP §§1002.01 and 1004.  If applicant’s country of origin does not issue registrations or certificates of extension of protection, the applicant may submit a copy of the international registration that shows that protection of the international registration has been extended to applicant’s country of origin.  TMEP §1016.

 

Therefore, applicant must submit a legible copy of the foreign registration and renewal certificate in order to satisfy the requirement of §44(e).

 

 

 

/Sue Carruthers/

Trademark Attorney, Law Office 108

Phone:  571-272-9139

Fax:  571-273-9108 (formal responses only)

 

 

NOTICE OF NEW PROCEDURE FOR E-MAILED OFFICE ACTIONS:  In late spring 2007, for any applicant who authorizes e-mail communication with the USPTO, the USPTO will no longer directly e-mail the actual Office action to the applicant.  Instead, upon issuance of an Office action, the USPTO will e-mail the applicant a notice with a link/web address to access the Office action using Trademark Document Retrieval (TDR), which is located on the USPTO website at http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow.  The Office action will not be attached to the e-mail notice.  Upon receipt of the notice, the applicant can then view and print the actual Office action and any evidentiary attachments using the provided link/web address.  TDR is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays and weekends.  This new process is intended to eliminate problems associated with e-mailed Office actions that contain numerous attachments.

 

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS OFFICE ACTION:

 

·         ONLINE RESPONSE:  You may respond using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) “Response to Office Action Form,” available on our website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html.  If the Office action issued via e-mail, you must wait 72 hours after receipt of the Office action to respond via TEAS.  NOTE:  Do not respond by e-mail.  THE USPTO WILL NOT ACCEPT AN E-MAILED RESPONSE.

 

·         REGULAR MAIL RESPONSE:  To respond by regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing return address above, and include the serial number, law office number, and examining attorney’s name.  NOTE:  The filing date of the response will be the date of receipt in the Office, not the postmarked date.  To ensure your response is timely, use a certificate of mailing.  37 C.F.R. §2.197.

 

STATUS OF APPLICATION: To check the status of your application, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.uspto.gov.

 

VIEW APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ONLINE: Documents in the electronic file for pending applications can be viewed and downloaded online at http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow.

 

GENERAL TRADEMARK INFORMATION: For general information about trademarks, please visit the Office’s website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm.

 

FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY SPECIFIED ABOVE.