UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

 

 

 

FINAL 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  78/646937

 

The examining attorney has reviewed the applicant’s amendments in favor of registration contained in its response to the first Office action and has determined as follows.

 

REQUIREMENT FOR AMENDED RECITATION OF SERVICES MAINTAINED AND MADE FINAL

 

In the first Office action, the examining attorney indicated that there was certain wording in the proposed recitation of services (i.e., “educational services”) that was indefinite and required clarification. The applicant was advised that it could amend its recitation as follows, if accurate:  “Educational services, namely, providing _____________ (specify form of educational activity, e.g., seminars, classes) in the field of horticulture” in International Class 41.

 

In its response to the first Office action, the applicant has proposed the following amendments to the recitation of services:  “Educational services, namely, providing best management practices for nursery professionals” in International Class 41.

 

For the following reasons, the requirement for an amended recitation of services is MAINTAINED and made FINAL.

 

The wording “providing best management practices” in the proposed amended recitation of services remains unacceptable as indefinite because the form of the educational activity has not been identified and the applicant has failed to identify the applicable field.  TMEP Section 1402.01.  In the recitation of services, the applicant must use the common commercial or generic names for the services, be as complete and specific as possible, and avoid the use of indefinite words and phrases.  TMEP §§1402.01 and 1402.03(a).

 

To follow are the examining attorney’s suggestions concerning the applicant’s recitation of services.  The applicant may amend the application pursuant to the examining attorney’s suggestions, if accurate:

 

“Educational services, namely, providing _____________ (indicate form of educational activity, e.g., classes, seminars, workshops) concerning best practices management in the field of ______________ (must indicate field, e.g., horticulture) to nursery professionals” in International Class 41.

 

For more information on acceptable identifications and classifications of goods and services, the applicant should review the Office’s Trademark Manual of Acceptable Identifications and Classifications for Goods and Services at http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/offices/tac/doc/gsmanual.  While an application may be amended to clarify or limit the identification of goods, additions to the identification are not permitted.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.71(b).  TMEP section 1402.06.  Therefore, the applicant may not amend to include any goods that are not within the scope of the present identification.

OPTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FINAL REFUSAL

 

Please note that the only appropriate responses to a final action are (1) compliance with the outstanding requirements, if feasible, (2) filing of an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or (3) filing of a petition to the Commissioner if permitted by 37 C.F.R. Section 2.63(b). 37 C.F.R. Section 2.64(a).  Regarding petitions to the Commissioner, see 37 C.F.R. Section 2.146; TMEP sections 1702 and 1704.  If the applicant fails to respond within six months of the mailing date of this refusal, this Office will declare the application abandoned.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.65(a). 

 

 

 

 

/Sonya B. Stephens/

Trademark Attorney

Law Office 109

(571) 272-9352 phone

(571) 273-9109 fax*

*fax no. for official responses only

 

 

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.