UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, WE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OUR MAILING OR E-MAILING DATE. 

 

 

Serial Number  78/313859

 

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

 

 

SEARCH OF THE RECORDS

 

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. Section 1052(d).  TMEP section 1105.01.

 

 

CLASS HEADINGS UNACCEPTABLE FOR IDENTIFICATION

 

Applicant must clarify the wording used to describe the goods and/or services to indicate the common commercial or generic name for each product or service.  In the present case, applicant used the headings of the international classes as the identification of the goods and/or services.  These headings are meant to indicate only the general subject matter and scope of each of the classes of goods and/or services.  While such broad designations may be sufficient under the trademark laws and practice of many countries, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office considers them too broad to identify the goods or services in a United States application.  In re Societe Generale des Eaux Minerales de Vittel S.A., 1 USPQ2d 1296, 1298 (TTAB 1986), rev'd on other grounds, 824 F.2d 957, 3 USPQ2d 1450 (Fed. Cir. 1987); TMEP §§1401.08, 1402.01 and 1402.01(a).

 

Please note that, while the identification of services may be amended to clarify or limit the services, adding to the services or broadening the scope of the services is not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Therefore, applicant may not amend the identification to include services that are not within the scope of the services set forth in the present identification.

 

For assistance with identifying goods and/or services in trademark applications, please see the online searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services at http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/offices/tac/doc/gsmanual/.

 

 

GENERAL INQUIRY ON SIGNIFICANCE

 

The applicant must indicate whether the term N1 has any significance in the relevant trade, any significance in relation to the services, any geographical significance or any meaning in a foreign language.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.61(b).

 

 

Electronic Responses

 

Applicant may respond to this Office action using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) at <http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html>.  When using TEAS the data the applicant submits is directly uploaded into the Office’s database, which reduces processing time and eliminates the possibility of data entry errors by the Office.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to use TEAS to respond to Office actions.  Applicants using TEAS should not submit a duplicate paper copy of the response.

 

 

Fee increase effective January 1, 2003

Effective January 1, 2003, the fee for filing an application for trademark registration will be increased to $335.00 per International Class.  The USPTO will not accord a filing date to applications that are filed on or after that date that are not accompanied by a minimum of $335.00. 

 

Additionally, the fee for amending an existing application to add an additional class or classes of goods/services will be $335.00 per class for classes added on or after January 1, 2003.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/Sharon A. Meier/

___________________________________

Sharon A. Meier

Trademark Attorney, Law Office 116

703-306-7927 - w

703-746-8116 - f

 

 

How to respond to this Office Action:

 

To respond formally using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html and follow the instructions.

 

To respond formally via regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing Return Address listed above and include the serial number, law office and examining attorney’s name on the upper right corner of each page of your response.

 

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

 

For general and other useful information about trademarks, you are encouraged to visit the Office’s web site at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm

 

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