Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

RESPONSE TIME LIMIT:  TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, THE OFFICE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE MAILING OR E-MAILING DATE. 

 

MAILING/E-MAILING DATE INFORMATION:  If the mailing or e-mailing date of this Office action does not appear above, this information can be obtained by visiting the USPTO website at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/, inserting the application serial number, and viewing the prosecution history for the mailing date of the most recently issued Office communication.

 

Serial Number  77/113383

 

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

 

No Conflicting Marks Noted

The examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered or pending mark which would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  TMEP §704.02.

 

Disclaimer

The applicant must insert a disclaimer of “LINK” in the application because the term(s) is/are merely descriptive of the goods and/or services.  Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. Section 1056; TMEP sections 1213 and 1213.08(a)(i).

 

The term “LINK” is defined as:

link1

 
link (lîngk) noun

1.    One of the rings or loops forming a chain.

2.    a. A unit in a connected series of units: links of sausage; one link in a molecular chain. b. A unit in a transportation or communications system. c. A connecting element; a tie or bond: grandparents, our link with the past.

3.    a. An association; a relationship: The Alumnae Association is my link to the school's present administration. b. A causal, parallel, or reciprocal relationship; a correlation: Researchers have detected a link between smoking and heart disease.

4.    A cuff link.

5.    Abbr. li. A unit of length used in surveying, equal to 0.01 chain, 7.92 inches, or about 20.12 centimeters.

6.    A rod or lever transmitting motion in a machine.

7.    Computer Science. An identifying term attached to an element in a system to facilitate connection to other identified elements.

 

verb, transitive & intransitive

linked, link·ing, links

To connect or become connected with or as if with a link. See synonyms at join.

 [Middle English linke, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hlekkr, ·hlenkr.]

— link¹er noun[1]

 

The term “LINK” merely describes a characteristic of the applicant’s goods, namely, a variety of products that are connected to record and playback television shows through television sets.

 

Trademark Act Section 6(a), 15 U.S.C. Section 1056(a), states that the Commissioner may require the applicant to disclaim an unregistrable component of a mark.  Trademark Act Section 2(e), 15 U.S.C. Section 1052(e), bars the registration of a mark which is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive of the goods. Therefore, the Commissioner may require the disclaimer of a portion of a mark which, when used in connection with the goods or services, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive.  If an applicant does not comply with a disclaimer requirement, the examining attorney may refuse registration of the entire mark.  TMEP section 1213.01(b).

 

A disclaimer does not remove the disclaimed matter from the mark.  It is simply a statement that the applicant does not claim exclusive rights in the disclaimed wording or design apart from the mark as shown in the drawing.

 

The following cases explain the disclaimer requirement more fully:  In re Kraft, Inc., 218 USPQ 571 (TTAB 1983); In re EBS Data Processing, Inc., 212 USPQ 964 (TTAB 1981); In re National Presto Industries, Inc., 197 USPQ 188 (TTAB 1977); In re Pendleton Tool Industries, Inc., 157 USPQ 114 (TTAB 1968).

 

The computerized printing format for the Trademark Official Gazette requires a standard form for a disclaimer.   TMEP section 1213.08(a)(i).  A properly worded disclaimer should read as follows:

 

            No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “LINK” apart from the mark as shown.

 

See In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm'r Pats. 1983).

 

Prior Registration

If the applicant is the owner of Registration No. 2943376 (abstract attached), the applicant must submit a claim of ownership.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.36; TMEP section 812.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  All of the issues raised may be able to be resolved by telephone.  The applicant's attorney may telephone the examining attorney, instead of submitting a written response, to expedite the application.

 

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

 

 

 

 

/Alec Powers/

Trademark Examining Attorney

US Patent and Trademark Office

Law Office 101

Phone: 571-272-9309

Fax: 571-273-9101

 

 

 

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.