To: | A & E Adventures, LLC (acaitken@aitkenlawoffices.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85110971 - GAME TIME - N/A |
Sent: | 5/22/2011 4:35:47 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM104@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85110971
MARK: GAME TIME
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
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APPLICANT: A & E Adventures, LLC
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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TO AVOID ABANDONMENT OF APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION, THE USPTO MUST RECEIVE APPLICANT’S COMPLETE RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE ISSUE/MAILING DATE BELOW.
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 5/22/2011
TEAS PLUS APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY OR SUBMIT FEE: Applicants who filed their application online using the reduced-fee TEAS Plus application must continue to submit certain documents online using TEAS, including responses to Office actions. See 37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(1). For a complete list of these documents, see TMEP §819.02(b). In addition, such applicants must accept correspondence from the Office via e-mail throughout the examination process and must maintain a valid e-mail address. 37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(2); TMEP §§819, 819.02(a). TEAS Plus applicants who do not meet these requirements must submit an additional fee of $50 per international class of goods and/or services. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iv); TMEP §819.04. In appropriate situations and where all issues can be resolved by amendment, responding by telephone to authorize an examiner’s amendment will not incur this additional fee.
This application has been reassigned. The prior cited application, Serial No. 78969860, has matured into registration.
SECTION 2(d) REFUSAL – LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION
In this case, the following factors are the most relevant: similarity of the marks, similarity of the goods and/or services, and similarity of trade channels of the goods and/or services. See In re Dakin’s Miniatures Inc., 59 USPQ2d 1593 (TTAB 1999); TMEP §§1207.01 et seq.
COMPARISON OF THE MARKS
The applicant’s mark is “GAME TIME.” The registrant’s mark is “IT’S GAME TIME.” The marks are highly similar in appearance, sound, meaning, and commercial impression. The marks are sufficiently similar to find a likelihood of confusion.
COMPARISON OF THE SERVICES
The applicant’s services are: Amusement arcades; Video arcade services in International Class 041.
The registrant’s services are: Entertainment and educational services in the nature of ongoing television and radio programs in the field of basketball and rendering live basketball games and basketball exhibitions; the production and distribution of radio and television broadcasts of basketball games, basketball events and programs in the field of basketball; conducting and arranging basketball clinics and camps, coaches clinics and camps, dance team clinics and camps and basketball events; entertainment services in the nature of personal appearances by a costumed mascot or dance team at basketball games and exhibitions, clinics, camps, promotions, and other basketball-related events, special events and parties; fan club services; entertainment services, namely, providing a website featuring multimedia material in the nature of television highlights, interactive television highlights, video recordings, video stream recordings, interactive video highlight selections, radio programs, radio highlights, and audio recordings in the field of basketball; basketball news in the nature of information, statistics, and trivia about basketball; on-line non-downloadable games, namely, computer games, video games, interactive video games, action skill games, arcade games, adults' and children's party games, board games, puzzles, and trivia games; providing on-line non-downloadable publications in the nature of magazines, guides, newsletters, coloring books, game schedules in the field of basketball that can be printed over the internet; providing an online computer database in the field of basketball in International Class 041.
The services of the applicant and the registrant are directly related as: providing arcade games in International Class 041.
It is likely that the purchasers would believe, mistakenly, that the goods/services come from a common source. Overall, the similarities among the marks and the goods/services of the parties are so great as to create a likelihood of confusion. The mark, “GAME TIME”, must therefore be refused.
RESPONSE TO REFUSAL
/Timothy J. Finnegan/
Trademark Examiner
LO 104
571-272-9710
timothy.finnegan@uspto.gov
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 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 Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/. Please keep a copy of the complete TARR screen. If TARR shows no change for more than six months, 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/teas/eTEASpageE.htm.