UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
SERIAL NO: 78/561572
APPLICANT: Avon Plastics, Inc. d/b/a Master Mark P ETC.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: M MASTER MARK PLASTICS
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: AVON.101TM
CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS: |
Please provide in all correspondence:
1. Filing date, serial number, mark and applicant's name. 2. Date of this Office Action. 3. Examining Attorney's name and Law Office number. 4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.
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Serial Number 78/561572
The Office records have been searched and no similar registered or pending mark has been found that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02.
Identification of Goods
The current wording used to describe the goods needs clarification as set forth in detail below. TMEP §1402.01.
Class 19
“Garden stakes” is vague. The applicant must state the material of which the stakes are made. “Non-metal garden stakes” belong in Class 20.
Class 20
“Shrub guards, tree wrap and tree guards” is a vague phrase. If accurate, the applicant may adopt, “horticultural bags and sacks, namely, bags and sacks made of woven synthetic or natural fibers or plastic materials, all for use in growing any type of plant, tree, or shrub, in International Class 22.”
“Irrigation pipes for underground sprinkler systems” is vague. The applicant must state the material of which the pipes are made. If accurate, the applicant may adopt, “plastic conduit for drainage and irrigation, in International Class 17.”
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://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html.
Please note that, while the identification of goods may be amended to clarify or limit the goods, adding to the goods or broadening the scope of the goods is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Therefore, applicant may not amend the identification to include goods that are not within the scope of the goods set forth in the present identification.
The applicant must rewrite the identification of goods in its entirety because of the nature and extent of the amendment. 37 C.F.R. §2.74(b).
Because it is possible that, when properly identified, the applicant’s goods may belong in more international classes than currently are of record, information about adding classes to an application is set forth below:
Combined Applications
If applicant prosecutes this application as a combined, or multiple‑class application, then applicant must comply with each of the requirements below for those goods and/or services based on actual use in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(a):
(1) Applicant must list the goods/services by international class with the classes listed in ascending numerical order;
(2) Applicant must submit a filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee already paid (current fee information should be confirmed at http://www.uspto.gov); and
(3) For each additional class of goods and/or services, applicant must submit:
(a) dates of first use of the mark anywhere and dates of first use of the mark in commerce, or a statement that the dates of use in the initial application apply to that class; the dates of use, both anywhere and in commerce, must be at least as early as the filing date of the application;
(b) one specimen showing use of the mark for each class of goods and/or services; the specimen must have been in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application;
(c) a statement that “the specimen was in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application at least as early as the filing date of the application;” and
(d) verification of the statements in 3(a) and 3(c) in an affidavit or a signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. (NOTE: Verification is not required where (1) the dates of use for the added class are stated to be the same as the dates of use specified in the initial application, or (2) the original specimens are acceptable for the added class). A sample declaration is set forth below:
The undersigned, being hereby warned that willful false statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. §1001, and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the application or any resulting registration, declares that the facts set forth in this application are true; all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true; and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
_____________________________
(Signature)
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(Print or Type Name and Position)
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(Date)
37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.34(a), 2.59, 2.71(c), and 2.86(a); TMEP §§810, 904.09, 1403.01 and 1403.02(c).
Please note that the specimen(s) of record are acceptable for Classes 19 and 20 only.
Disclaimers
Applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording “plastics” apart from the mark as shown because it merely describes the material from which many of the goods are made. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. §1056; TMEP §§1213 and 1213.03(a).
The computerized printing format for the Office’s Trademark Official Gazette requires a standardized format for a disclaimer. TMEP §1213.08(a)(i). The following is the standard format used by the Office:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “plastics” apart from the mark as shown.
See In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
Claim of Ownership
If applicant is the owner of U.S. Registration Nos. 1947986 and 1508159, then applicant must submit a claim of ownership. 37 C.F.R. §2.36; TMEP §812. The following standard format is suggested:
Applicant is the owner of U.S. Registration Nos. 1947986 and 1508159.
/Doritt Carroll/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 116
Phone: (571) 272-9138
Fax: (571) 273-9138
www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS OFFICE ACTION:
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.