To: | WhatsApp Inc. (trademarks@ipla.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85491825 - N/A |
Sent: | 2/4/2013 10:29:30 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM102@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85491825
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: 4445 EASTGATE MALL STE 200 |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
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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: 2/4/2013
Further to the suspension notice issued 5/24/12, the examining attorney has reviewed the status of this case and has determined as follows:
SUMMARY OF ISSUES covered in this application:
APPLICANT MUST EXPLAIN THE CLARIFY THE ROLE OF BLACK IN THE DRAWING OF THE MARK
The drawing shows the applied-for mark in various colors, including green, black and white. Although the application includes a claim of color and a mark description referencing green and white, the color black is not included in either the color claim or description. The color claim and mark description must be complete and reference all the colors in the mark. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq. Therefore, applicant must clarify whether black (in addition to green and white) is being claimed as color and/or is intended to indicate background, outlining, shading and/or transparent areas. TMEP §807.07(d).
To clarify whether black is being claimed as color, applicant must satisfy one of the following:
(1) If black is being claimed as a color in the mark, applicant must amend the color claim to include this color, and amend the mark description to identify the literal and design elements that include this color and specify where the black appears in these elements; or
(2) If black is not being claimed as a color in the mark, applicant must provide a statement that the colors black represents background, outlining, shading and/or transparent areas and is not part of the mark.
Id.
GENERAL RESPONSE GUIDELINES
If applicant does not respond to this Office action within six months of the issue/mailing date, or responds by expressly abandoning the application, the application process will end, the trademark will fail to register, and the application fee will not be refunded. See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.65(a), 2.68(a), 2.209(a); TMEP §§405.04, 718.01, 718.02. Where the application has been abandoned for failure to respond to an Office action, applicant’s only option would be to file a timely petition to revive the application, which, if granted, would allow the application to return to live status. See 37 C.F.R. §2.66; TMEP §1714. There is a $100 fee for such petitions. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.66(b)(1).
If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney. All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response. See 37 C.F.R. §2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05. Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights. See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.
/Nancy L. Clarke/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 102
Tel. (571) 272-9253
E-mail: nancy.clarke@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.