To: | Sunripe Enterprises, LLC (trademark@bowditch.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85292489 - MED WORKS - 307168.4012- |
Sent: | 7/22/11 4:31:57 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM113@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85292489
MARK: MED WORKS
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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: Sunripe Enterprises, 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: 7/22/2011
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, 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
The Office records have been searched and there are no similar registered or pending marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02. However, the application cannot be approved for publication until the requirements set forth below are satisfactorily addressed.
DISCLAIMER OF DESCRIPTIVE WORDING
Failure to comply with a disclaimer requirement can result in a refusal to register the entire mark. TMEP §1213.01(b).
A “disclaimer” is a statement that applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of a mark. TMEP§1213. A disclaimer does not affect the appearance of the applied-for mark. See TMEP§1213.10.
The applicant must insert a disclaimer of MED in the application because such wording is descriptive in relation to the goods. As the attached dictionary entry shows “med” is short for “medical.” As the attached Internet evidence also shows, clothing and apparel are often specifically used by those in the medical profession. For example, Smart Scrubs and Rampage Medical Apparel all feature medical scrubs. Thus the wording MED is descriptive of the goods in that they are likely to be used by those in the medial profession. See 15 U.S.C. §1056(a); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a).
The computerized printing format for the Office’s Trademark Official Gazette requires a standardized format for a disclaimer. TMEP §1213.08(a)(i). The following is the standard format used by the Office:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “MED” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS
The wording “clothing” in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in several international classes. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03. Examples of acceptable identifications include the following: “clothing for protection against accidents, irradiation and fire” in International Class 9; “surgical gowns” and “medical wearing apparel, namely, scrub tops” in International Class 10; “pet clothing” in International Class 18; and “shirts, shorts and pants” in International Class 25. Therefore, applicant must amend the identification to specify the type of clothing.
If applicant’s clothing is classified in International Class 25, applicant should insert the word “namely,” after “clothing” and indicate the specific types of clothing items (e.g., shirts, pants, coats, dresses).
Applicant may adopt the following identification of goods, if accurate:
See TMEP §1402.01.
For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and/or services in trademark applications, please see the online searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html. See TMEP §1402.04.
ADDITION OF CLASSES
(1) LIST GOODS AND/OR SERVICES BY INTERNATIONAL CLASS: Applicant must list the goods and/or services by international class; and
(2) PROVIDE FEES FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL CLASSES: Applicant must submit an application filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee(s) already paid (confirm current fee information at http://www.uspto.gov, click on “View Fee Schedule” under the column titled “Trademarks”).
See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).
/Melissa Vallillo/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 113
Phone: (571) 272-5891
Fax: (571) 273-9113
E-mail: melissa.vallillo@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.