To: | Sweet Spot Concepts LP (ryan@wertmanlaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85419606 - SWEET SPOT - N/A |
Sent: | 4/8/2013 1:03:55 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM112@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 Attachment - 14 Attachment - 15 Attachment - 16 Attachment - 17 Attachment - 18 Attachment - 19 Attachment - 20 Attachment - 21 Attachment - 22 Attachment - 23 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85419606
MARK: SWEET SPOT
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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: Sweet Spot Concepts LP
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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OFFICE ACTION
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: 4/8/2013
THIS IS A FINAL ACTION.
Action on this application was suspended pending the disposition of prior-filed serial number 85315744, which has now been abandoned.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES that applicant must address:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and found unpersuasive. For the reasons set forth below, the refusal to register is now made FINAL. See 37 C.F.R. Section 2.64.
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.
The applicant seeks registration of the mark SWEET SPOT for use in connection with “a carribean themed and family friendly lounge and entertainment center which, in addition, provides wholesome and home-made carribean themed food to its patrons; the establishment will provides games and other forms of family friendly enterainment” (as amended).
The registrant’s mark is SWEET SPOT for “restaurant services, namely, dessert bar services”.
Marks are Identical
The marks, SWEET SPOT and SWEET SPOT, are identical.
Services are Related
The services of the parties are clearly related because each party provides restaurant services. Although the themes and the food offerings may differ, the services are in the nature of restaurant services.
Evidence obtained from the Internet may be used to support a determination under Section 2(d) that goods and/or services are related. See, e.g., In re G.B.I. Tile & Stone, Inc., 92 USPQ2d 1366, 1371 (TTAB 2009); In re Paper Doll Promotions, Inc., 84 USPQ2d 1660, 1668 (TTAB 2007).
Because the services are of a type that commonly emanate from a single source, there would be a likelihood of confusion with respect to the services. Because there is a likelihood of confusion with respect to the marks and the services, registration is refused under Trademark Act Section 2(d).
SCOPE OF IDENTIFICATION
While an applicant may clarify or limit the identification of goods and/or services, adding to or broadening the scope is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07(a). Therefore, this wording should be deleted from the identification. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.07(d).
IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES
The identification of services is indefinite and must be clarified. See TMEP §1402.01. As currently written, the identification lists services that are both indefinite and appropriately classified in more than one international class.
Applicant may adopt one or more of the following identifications, if accurate:
Entertainment services, namely, provision of children’s play areas and arcade games at restaurants, in class 41
Restaurant services, namely, providing a family-friendly Caribbean themed restaurant which provides homemade Caribbean themed food, in class 43
(1) Applicant must list the goods and/or services by international class; and
(2) Applicant must submit a filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services not covered by the fee already paid (current fee information should be confirmed at http://www.uspto.gov).
See 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).
(1) Submitting a response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements, if feasible; and/or
(2) Filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with an appeal fee of $100 per class.
37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(18), 2.64(a); TBMP ch. 1200; TMEP §714.04.
In certain rare circumstances, a petition to the Director may be filed pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review a final Office action that is limited to procedural issues. 37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(b); TBMP §1201.05; TMEP §1704 (explaining petitionable matters). The petition fee is $100. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).
If there are questions regarding this communication, please contact the undersigned.
/David Taylor/
Law Office 112
571-272-9420
David.Taylor2@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 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.