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: 7/6/2012

 

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 – Signed Verification Required
• Amended Identification of Goods Required

 

No Conflicting Marks Noted

 

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).

 

Informalities

 

Although the examining attorney has not refused registration on any substantive basis, the applicant must respond to the following informalities.

 

Unsigned Application – Signed Verification Required

 

The application was not signed and verified, both of which are application requirements.  See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1126(d)-(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(a), (b)(2), 2.34(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(b)(3), 1126(d)-(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(a), (b)(2), (c), 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §§804.02, 806.01(b)-(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), (b)(2), (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 by a person authorized under 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(1) and dated, with the printed or typed name of the signatory appearing immediately below the signature.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.20, 2.33(a), (b)(2), (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 entitled to use the mark in commerce; applicant has had a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods 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)

 

Amended Identification of Goods Required

 

The identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified.  See TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant must specify the common commercial or generic name for the goods.  If there is no common commercial or generic name, applicant must describe the product and intended consumer as well as its main purpose and intended uses. 

 

• The wording “milk products” in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in other international classes.  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  milk products, excluding ice cream, ice milk and frozen yogurt in Class 29; ice cream, ice milk and frozen yogurt in Class 30.
• The wording “milk beverages” in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in other international classes.  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  milk beverages with high milk content in Class 29; milk beverages containing fruit in Class 29; milk shakes in Class 30.

 

Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate. 

 

Class 29:          Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; jellies; eggs, milk and milk products, excluding ice cream, ice milk and frozen yogurt; sweetened condensed milk; edible oils and fats; milk and milk powder; flavored milk; milk beverages with high milk content and yoghurt.

 

For assistance with identifying and classifying goods in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html.  See TMEP §1402.04.

 

An applicant may amend an identification of goods only to clarify or limit the goods; adding to or broadening the scope of the goods is not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07 et seq. 

 

Advisory – Multiple Class Application Requirements

 

For an application with more than one international class, called a “multiple-class application,” an applicant must meet all the requirements below for those international classes based on an intent to use the mark in commerce under Trademark Act Section 1(b):

 

(1)        LIST GOODS BY INTERNATIONAL CLASS:  Applicant must list the goods by international class.

 

(2)        PROVIDE FEES FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL CLASSES:  Applicant must submit an application filing fee for each international class of goods not covered by the fee(s) already paid (confirm current fee information at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/tm_fee_info.jsp).

 

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).

 

The filing fees for adding classes to an application are as follows:

 

(1)  A $325 fee per class, when the fees are submitted with an electronic response filed online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp, via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

 

(2)  A $375 fee per class, when the fees are submitted with a paper response.

 

37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(i)-(ii); TMEP §§810, 1403.02(c).

 

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 §§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.

 

 

/Kelly F. Boulton/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

571-272-9247

Kelly.Boulton@uspto.gov (informal questions only)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 7/6/2012 FOR

SERIAL NO. 85581128

 

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 7/6/2012 (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.