Offc Action Outgoing

Deadline for responding. The USPTO must receive applicant’s response within six months of the “date on which the notification was sent to WIPO (mailing date)” located on the WIPO cover letter, or the U.S. application will be abandoned (see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks-application-process/abandoned-applications for information on abandonment). To confirm the mailing date, go to the USPTO’s Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/, select “US Serial, Registration, or Reference No.,” enter the U.S. application serial number in the blank text box, and click on “Documents.” The mailing date used to calculate the response deadline is the “Create/Mail Date” of the “IB-1rst Refusal Note.”

Respond to this Office action using the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action.

Discussion of provisional full refusal. This is a provisional full refusal of the request for extension of protection to the United States of the international registration, known in the United States as a U.S. application based on Trademark Act Section 66(a). See 15 U.S.C. §§1141f(a), 1141h(c).

The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue(s) below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

SEARCH OF USPTO DATABASE OF MARKS

The trademark examining attorney searched the USPTO database of registered and pending marks and found no conflicting marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d). 15 U.S.C. §1052(d); TMEP §704.02.

SUMMARY OF ISSUES:

Identification of Goods
Place of Organization
Email Address and U.S.-Licensed Counsel Required

Identification of Goods

The wording “propulsion systems for wheelchairs” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the goods must be further specified. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.

The wording “spare parts and accessories for wheelchairs; spare parts and accessories for propulsion systems for wheelchairs” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the parts and accessories must be further specified or set forth by their common commercial name(s). See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:

Class 12: Electrically operated wheelchairs; manually operated wheelchairs; electric motors for wheelchairs; thrusters for vehicles; wheelchair thrusters; propulsion systems for wheelchairs being wheelchair motors; spare parts and accessories for wheelchairs being structural parts for wheelchairs; spare parts and accessories for propulsion systems for wheelchairs being structural parts for wheelchairs

Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but not to broaden or expand the goods and/or services 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 and/or services 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 (International Bureau); and the classification of goods and/or services may not be changed from that assigned by the International Bureau. 37 C.F.R. §2.85(d); TMEP §§1401.03(d), 1904.02(b). Further, in a multiple-class Section 66(a) application, classes may not be added or goods and/or services transferred from one existing class to another. 37 C.F.R. §2.85(d); TMEP §1401.03(d).

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.

Place of Organization

Applicant must specify its country of organization. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(ii); TMEP §§803.03(c), 803.04. This information is required in all U.S. trademark applications. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(ii); TMEP §§803.03, 803.04. The application states that applicant is organized in “La Spezia – Italy”. Generally, only the country of organization should be set forth; therefore, applicant should clarify under which country’s laws applicant is organized.

If applicant is organized under the laws of a foreign province or geographical region, applicant should specify both the foreign province or geographical region and the foreign country in which the province or region is located. See TMEP §803.04. To provide this information online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) response form, applicant must (1) locate the “Entity Type” heading and select “Other;” (2) locate the “Specify Entity Type” heading and select “Other” under the Foreign Entity option, and enter in the free-text field below both applicant’s entity type and the foreign province or geographical region of its organization (e.g., partnership of Victoria); and (3) locate the “State or Country Where Legally Organized” heading and select the appropriate foreign country (e.g., Australia) under the Non-U.S. Entity option. See id.

Email Address and U.S.-Licensed Counsel Required

Email address required. Applicant must provide applicant’s email address, which is a requirement for a complete application. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(2); TMEP §803.05(b). This email address cannot be identical to the primary correspondence email address of a U.S.-licensed attorney retained to represent applicant in this application. See TMEP §803.05(b).

Applicant is required to be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney to respond to or appeal the provisional refusal because applicant’s domicile is located outside of the United States and applicant does not appear to be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney. 37 C.F.R. §2.11(a); TMEP §601.01(a). An applicant whose domicile is located outside of the United States or its territories must be represented by an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a U.S. state or territory. 37 C.F.R. §2.11(a); TMEP §§601, 601.01(a). In this case, applicant’s domicile is identified in the application as Italy. For more information, see the U.S. Counsel webpage at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademark/laws-regulations/trademark-rule-requires-foreign-applicants-and-registrants-have-us and Hiring a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney webpage at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks-getting-started/why-hire-private-trademark-attorney.

To appoint a U.S.-licensed attorney in this application, applicant should submit a completed Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Change Address or Representation form at http://teas.gov.uspto.report/ccr/car. The newly-appointed attorney must submit a TEAS Response to Examining Attorney Office Action form at http://teas.gov.uspto.report/office/roa/ indicating that an appointment of attorney has been made and address all other refusals or requirements in this action. Alternatively, if applicant retains an attorney before filing the response, the attorney can respond to this Office action by using the appropriate TEAS response form and provide his or her attorney information in the form and sign it as applicant’s attorney. See 37 C.F.R. §2.17(b)(1)(ii); TMEP §604.01.

Response Guidelines

For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement in this Office action. For a refusal, applicant may provide written arguments and evidence against the refusal, and may have other response options if specified above. For a requirement, applicant should set forth the changes or statements. Please see “Responding to Office Actions” and the informational video “Response to Office Action” for more information and tips on responding.

Please call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney with questions about this Office action. Although an examining attorney cannot provide legal advice, the examining attorney can provide additional explanation about the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action. See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.

The USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions; however, emails can be used for informal communications and are included in the application record. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05.

How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.

Carr, Patrick

/Patrick Carr/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 125

(571) 272-9634

patrick.carr@uspto.gov

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon. A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period. TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.

Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon. If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant. If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.