UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

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: 9/19/2011

 

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(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

 

SUMMARY OF ISSUES THAT APPLICANT MUST ADDRESS

 

• Unsigned Application
• Certificate of Foreign Registration Required

 

SEARCH RESULTS

 

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).

 

Applicant must respond to the requirement(s) set forth below.

 

UNSIGNED APPLICATION

 

The application was not signed and verified, which are application requirements.  See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a)-(b), 1126(d)-(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(a)-(b), 2.34(a)(1)(i), (a)(2), (a)(3)(i), (a)(4)(ii).  Therefore, applicant must verify the statements specified further below in a signed affidavit or declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.  See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a)(3), (b)(3), 1126(d)-(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(a)-(c), 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §§804.02, 806.01(a)-(d).

 

If applicant responds to this Office action online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), applicant may satisfy this requirement by answering “yes” to the TEAS response form wizard question relating to submitting a “signed declaration,” and following the instructions within the form for signing.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(a)-(c), 2.193(a), (c)-(d), (e)(1); TMEP §§611.01(c), 804.01(b). 

 

If applicant responds to this Office action on paper, via regular mail, applicant may satisfy this requirement by providing the following statements and declaration at the end of the response, personally signed and dated by a person authorized under 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(1).  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.20, 2.33(a)-(c), 2.193(a), (d); TMEP §§611.01(b), 804.01(b).

 

STATEMENTS:  The undersigned is properly authorized to execute this application on behalf of the applicant; he/she believes the applicant to be the owner of the trademark/service mark sought to be registered, or, if the application is being filed under 15 U.S.C. §1051(b), §1126(d) or §1126(e), he/she believes the applicant to be entitled to use the mark in commerce; the mark is in use in commerce and was in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the application as of the application filing date; the specimen shows the mark as used on or in connection with the goods or services listed in the application; 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 application filing date; the facts set forth in the application are true and accurate; and to the best of the undersigned’s 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.

 

DECLARATION:  The undersigned being warned that willful false statements and the like 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 document or any registration resulting therefrom, declares 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)

 

_____________________________

(Print or Type Name and Position)

 

_____________________________

(Date)

 

CERTIFICATE OF FOREIGN REGISTRATION REQUIRED

 

The application specifies both a use basis under Trademark Act Section 1(a) and a reliance on a foreign registration(s) under Section 44(e).  See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a), 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(2)-(3).  However, the foreign registration alone may serve as a basis for obtaining a U.S. registration.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(3); TMEP §806.01(d).  If applicant wants to rely on the foreign registration under Section 44(e) as the sole basis, applicant can request deletion of the Section 1(a) basis.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.35(b)(1); TMEP §806.04.

 

Alternatively, inasmuch as applicant has not yet submitted the foreign registration or otherwise perfected the Section 44(e) basis, applicant can amend the application to rely solely on the Section 1 basis and request deletion of the Section 44(e) basis.

 

Unless applicant indicates otherwise, this Office will presume that applicant is relying on both Sections 1(a) and 44(e).

 

Questions regarding this Office action may be directed to the undersigned examining attorney.

 

 

/Karen P. Severson/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 117

Telephone:  571-272-8285

e-mail:  karen.severson@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.

 

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YOUR

U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

USPTO OFFICE ACTION HAS ISSUED ON 9/19/2011 FOR

SERIAL NO. 85329965

 

Please follow the instructions below to continue the prosecution of your application:

 

 

TO READ OFFICE ACTION: Click on this link or go to http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow and enter the application serial number to access the Office action.

 

PLEASE NOTE: The Office action may not be immediately available but will be viewable within 24 hours of this e-mail notification.

 

RESPONSE IS REQUIRED: You should carefully review the Office action to determine (1) how to respond; and (2) the applicable response time period. Your response deadline will be calculated from 9/19/2011 (or sooner if specified in the office action).

 

Do NOT hit “Reply” to this e-mail notification, or otherwise attempt to e-mail your response, as the USPTO does NOT accept e-mailed responses.  Instead, the USPTO recommends that you respond online using the Trademark Electronic Application System Response Form.

 

HELP: For technical assistance in accessing the Office action, please e-mail

TDR@uspto.gov.  Please contact the assigned examining attorney with questions about the Office action. 

 

        WARNING

 

Failure to file the required response by the applicable deadline will result in the ABANDONMENT of your application.