UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
|
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 79191973
MARK: AMUSE
|
|
|
CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: MATSUSHITA Masahiro; c/o IPP Internation |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
|
|
APPLICANT: AMUSE Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
|
OFFICE ACTION
INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION NO. 1309692
STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTIFICATION: TO AVOID PARTIAL ABANDONMENT OF THE REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF PROTECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION, THE USPTO MUST RECEIVE A COMPLETE RESPONSE TO THIS PROVISIONAL PARTIAL REFUSAL NOTIFICATION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE “DATE ON WHICH THE NOTIFICATION WAS SENT TO WIPO (MAILING DATE)” LOCATED ON THE WIPO COVER LETTER ACCOMPANYING THIS NOTIFICATION.
In addition to the Mailing Date appearing on the WIPO cover letter, a holder (hereafter “applicant”) may confirm this Mailing Date using the USPTO’s Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/. To do so, enter the U.S. application serial number for this application and then select “Documents.” The Mailing Date used to calculate the response deadline for this provisional partial refusal is the “Create/Mail Date” of the “IB-1rst Refusal Note.”
This is a PROVISIONAL PARTIAL REFUSAL of the request for extension of protection of the mark in the above-referenced U.S. application that applies to only the following goods:
Toys; Japanese chess Shogi games; uta-garuta playing cards Japanese card game; Japanese dice games Sugoroku; hanafuda playing cards Japanese card game
See 15 U.S.C. §1141h(c). See below in this notification (hereafter “Office action”) for details regarding the provisional partial refusal.
FAILING TO RESPOND WILL RESULT IN PARTIAL ABANDONMENT OF APPLICATION: If applicant does not respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, the goods identified above, in the beginning of this Office action, will be deleted from the application.
In such case, the application will then proceed only with the following goods:
Class 28
go board games; dice; dice cups; Chinese checkers games; chess sets; checkers games; apparatus for performing magic tricks; dominoes; playing cards; mah jong games
See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)-(a)(1); TMEP §718.02(a).
WHO IS PERMITTED TO RESPOND TO THIS PROVISIONAL PARTIAL REFUSAL: Any response to this provisional refusal must be personally signed by an individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner). 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §712.01. If applicant hires a qualified U.S. attorney to respond on his or her behalf, then the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. §§2.193(e)(2)(i), 11.18(a); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01. Qualified U.S. attorneys include those in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. commonwealths or U.S. territories. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(a), 2.62(b), 11.1, 11.14(a); TMEP §§602, 712.01. Additionally, for all responses, the proper signatory must personally sign the document or personally enter his or her electronic signature on the electronic filing. See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(a); TMEP §§611.01(b), 611.02. The name of the signatory must also be printed or typed immediately below or adjacent to the signature, or identified elsewhere in the filing. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(d); TMEP §611.01(b).
In general, foreign attorneys are not permitted to represent applicants before the USPTO (e.g., file written communications, authorize an amendment to an application, or submit legal arguments in response to a requirement or refusal). See 37 C.F.R. §11.14(c), (e); TMEP §§602.03-.03(b), 608.01.
DESIGNATION OF DOMESTIC REPRESENTATIVE: The USPTO encourages applicants who do not reside in the United States to designate a domestic representative upon whom any notice or process may be served. TMEP §610; see 15 U.S.C. §§1051(e), 1141h(d); 37 C.F.R. §2.24(a)(1)-(2). Such designations may be filed online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.
SEARCH OF THE OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS
The trademark examining attorney has searched the Office’s database of registered and pending marks and has found no conflicting marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d). TMEP §704.02; see 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). However, applicant must respond to the following before the application can be approved for publication.
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS
Specifically, the word “toys” is indefinite. Applicant must specify the types of toys it will sell. Also, regarding those games that are identified by two types of names, like “Japanese chess Shogi games,” the second name should be provided in parentheses “( )” to make it clear that these are a single game, described twice. This is an exception to the rule against using parentheses in identifying goods.
Applicant may adopt the following identification (proposed changes are shown in bold italics), if accurate:
Class 28
Toys, namely balloons, basketballs, fashion dolls and toy guns; go board games; Japanese chess (Shogi games); uta-garuta playing cards (Japanese card game); dice; Japanese dice games (Sugoroku); dice cups; Chinese checkers games; chess sets; checkers games; apparatus for performing magic tricks; dominoes; playing cards; hanafuda playing cards (Japanese card game); mah jong games
For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and services in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual. See TMEP §1402.04.
Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods, but not to broaden or expand the goods beyond those in the original application or as acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Generally, any deleted goods may not later be reinserted. See TMEP §1402.07(e). Additionally, for applications filed under Trademark Act Section 66(a), the scope of the identification for purposes of permissible amendments is limited by the international class assigned by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization. 37 C.F.R. §2.85(f); TMEP §§1402.07(a), 1904.02(c).
FILING BASIS ADVISORY
RESPONSE GUIDELINES – PARTIAL ABANDONMENT
For this application to proceed further, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement raised in this Office action. If the action includes a refusal, applicant may provide arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn and the mark should register. Applicant may also have other options for responding to a refusal and should consider such options carefully. To respond to requirements and certain refusal response options, applicant should set forth in writing the required changes or statements. For more information and general tips on responding to USPTO Office actions, response options, and how to file a response online, see “Responding to Office Actions” on the USPTO’s website.
If applicant does not respond to this Office action within six months of the issue/mailing date, the following goods will be deleted from the application:
Toys; Japanese chess Shogi games; uta-garuta playing cards Japanese card game; Japanese dice games Sugoroku; hanafuda playing cards Japanese card game
See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.02(a). The application will then proceed with the following goods only:
Class 28
go board games; dice; dice cups; Chinese checkers games; chess sets; checkers games; apparatus for performing magic tricks; dominoes; playing cards; mah jong games
See TMEP §718.02(a). In such case, applicant’s only option would be to file a timely petition to revive the abandoned goods, which, if granted, would allow for the reinsertion of these goods into the application. See 37 C.F.R. §2.66; TMEP §§718.02(a), 1714. There is a $100 fee for such petitions. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.66(b)(1).
To expedite prosecution of the application, applicant is encouraged to file its response to this Office action online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), which is available at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/index.jsp. If applicant has technical questions about the TEAS response to Office action form, applicant can review the electronic filing tips available online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/e_filing_tips.jsp and e-mail technical questions to TEAS@uspto.gov.
If applicant has questions about this application or needs assistance in responding to this Office Action, please telephone the examining attorney at the number below.
/Fred Carl III/
Trademark Examining Attorney
U.S. Pat. & Trademark Office
Law Office 108
571/272-8867 direct phone
571/273-8867 fax
fred.carl@uspto.gov*
* Email correspondence cannot be accepted as a response to an outstanding action. TMEP §304.02.
TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: Go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp. Please wait 48-72 hours from the issue/mailing date before using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), to allow for necessary system updates of the application. For technical assistance with online forms, e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov. For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney. E-mail communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by e-mail.
All informal e-mail communications relevant to this application will be placed in the official application record.
WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE: It must be personally signed by an individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind an applicant (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint applicants). If an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response.
PERIODICALLY CHECK THE STATUS OF THE APPLICATION: To ensure that applicant does not miss crucial deadlines or official notices, check the status of the application every three to four months using the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the TSDR status screen. If the status shows no change for more than six months, contact the Trademark Assistance Center by e-mail at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or call 1-800-786-9199. For more information on checking status, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/.
TO UPDATE CORRESPONDENCE/E-MAIL ADDRESS: Use the TEAS form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.