Offc Action Outgoing

Applicant may respond directly to this provisional refusal Office action, or applicant’s attorney may respond on applicant’s behalf. However, the only attorneys who can practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in trademark matters are as follows:

(1) Attorneys in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other federal territories and possessions of the U.S.; and

(2) Canadian attorneys who represent applicants residing in Canada and who have applied for and received reciprocal recognition by the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. §10.14(c).

37 C.F.R. §10.14; TMEP §602.

Other than duly authorized Canadian attorneys, foreign attorneys cannot sign responses or otherwise represent applicants before the USPTO. See TMEP §602.06(b). Preparing a paper, authorizing an amendment to an application, or submitting legal arguments in response to a requirement or refusal constitutes representation of a party in a trademark matter. A response signed by an unauthorized foreign attorney is considered an incomplete response. TMEP §§602, 602.03, 603.04, 605.05(a).

THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN PROVISIONALLY REFUSED AS FOLLOWS:

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

Search of Office Records

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. However, other issues currently exist that prevent the pending application from being approved for registration.

Identification of Goods and/or Services

The current wording used to describe the goods needs clarification because “sealing gaskets” and “sealing elements” are indefinite. Applicant must identify the composition of the goods. “Sealing modulus” is indefinite. Applicant must insert the common commercial name for the goods. Applicant may adopt the following identification of goods and/or services, if accurate:

Sealing, packing and insulating materials; non-metal sealing gaskets for [Insert the use of the goods], non-metal sealing elements for [Insert the use of the sealing elements], sealing modulus, namely [Insert the common commercial name for the goods]; molded rubber in [include the shapes or specify various shapes] used for [Insert the use of the rubber, i.e., packing, padding, ect.], in International Class 017. TMEP §1402.01.

The applicant is advised that the Trademark Office Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services, which includes the correct classifications of the listed goods and services, may be found online at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html The applicant may find this resource to be quite useful in framing an amended and acceptable identification of goods/services in this matter.

The applicant should bear in mind that brackets and parentheses shown in the identification manual are in the nature of directional signals, the significance of which is explained in the introduction to the Identification Manual. Parentheses and brackets should not be included in the actual identification of goods or recitation of services adopted by the applicant.

Please also note that, while an application may be amended to clarify or limit the identification, additions to the identification are not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP Sections 1402.06 and 1402.07(e). Therefore, the applicant may not amend to include any goods or services that are not within the scope of the goods and services recited in the present identification. In addition, once an item has been deleted from an identification of goods or recitation of services, it normally cannot be reinserted.

Entity Clarification

Applicant must specify the names, legal entities and the national citizenship (for individuals) or the U.S. state or foreign country of organization or incorporation (for businesses) of the general partners. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(iii); TMEP §§803.03(b), 803.04.

Response to Office Action

Please note, there is no required format or form for responding to this Office action. The Office recommends applicants use the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) to respond to Office actions online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html. However, if applicant responds on paper via regular mail, the response should include the following information: (1) the name and law office number of the examining attorney; (2) the serial number of this application; (3) the mailing date of this Office action; and, (4) applicant's telephone number.

When responding to this Office action, applicant must make sure to respond to each refusal and requirement raised. If there is a refusal to register the proposed mark, then applicant may wish to argue against the refusal, i.e., submit arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn and why the mark should register. If there are other requirements, then applicant should simply set forth in writing the required changes or statements and request that the Office enter them into the application record. Applicant must also sign and date its response.

Conclusion

If applicant has questions about its application or needs assistance in responding to this Office Action, please telephone the assigned trademark examining attorney directly at the number below.

/Michael G. Lewis/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 111

United States Patent and Trademark Office

(571) 272-5495

RESPOND TO THIS ACTION: If there are any questions about the Office action, please contact the assigned examining attorney. A response to this Office action should be filed using the form available at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/eTEASpageD.htm. If notification of this Office action was received via e-mail, no response using this form may be filed for 72 hours after receipt of the notification. Do not attempt to respond by e-mail as the USPTO does not accept e-mailed responses.

If responding by paper mail, please include the following information: the application serial number, the mark, the filing date and the name, title/position, telephone number and e-mail address of the person signing the response. Please use the following address: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451.

STATUS CHECK: Check the status of the application at least once every six months from the initial filing date using the USPTO Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) online system at http://tarr.uspto.gov. When conducting an online status check, print and maintain a copy of the complete TARR screen. If the status of your application has not changed for more than six months, please contact the assigned examining attorney.

The application was not signed and verified, which are application requirements. 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a)-(b), 1126(d)-(e), 1141f(a); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33-2.34. Therefore, applicant must verify, in a signed affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, the following statement: “Applicant has had a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application as of the filing date, and the facts set forth in the application are true and correct.” 37 C.F.R. §2.193(c)(1)(iii); TMEP §804.02.

If applicant responds to this Office action via TEAS, applicant may satisfy this requirement by adding the required statement (specified immediately above) to the TEAS response form, checking the box for a “signed declaration,” and properly signing the form by either (1) choosing an electronic signature consisting of any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and/or punctuation marks, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol (e.g., /johndoe/), and entering this in the signature block on the response form, or (2) attaching a JPG or PDF image of a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20 (see declaration paragraph below) together with a pen-and-ink signature. TMEP §804.05.

If applicant responds to this Office action on paper, via regular mail, applicant may satisfy this requirement by providing the following declaration at the end of the response, properly signed and dated:

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 and the like may jeopardize the validity of the application or any resulting registration, declares that he/she is properly authorized to execute this application on behalf of the applicant; he/she believes the applicant to be entitled to use such mark in commerce; that applicant has had a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application as of the filing date; that the facts set forth in the application are true and correct; that to the best of his/her knowledge and belief no other person, firm, corporation, or association has the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form thereof or in such near resemblance thereto as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other person, to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive; and that 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)