To: | Diana's Bananas, Inc. (rbeiser@vedderprice.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85680633 - BANANA BITES - 41903000006 |
Sent: | 4/28/2013 9:47:49 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM117@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 Attachment - 24 Attachment - 25 Attachment - 26 Attachment - 27 Attachment - 28 Attachment - 29 Attachment - 30 Attachment - 31 Attachment - 32 Attachment - 33 Attachment - 34 Attachment - 35 Attachment - 36 Attachment - 37 Attachment - 38 Attachment - 39 Attachment - 40 Attachment - 41 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85680633
MARK: BANANA BITES
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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: Diana's Bananas, Inc.
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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: 4/28/2013
THIS IS A FINAL ACTION.
This letter responds to applicant’s communication dated 04/09/2013. Applicant’s disclaimer of the term BANANA is acceptable and has been entered accordingly. Please note, however, that the examining attorney is unpersuaded by applicant’s arguments with respect to the 2(e)(1) refusal. Therefore please note the following.
SECTION 2(e)(1) DESCRIPTIVE FINAL REFUSAL
Applicant’s mark is BANANA BITES for frozen confections, namely, chocolate dipped bananas. BANANA is defined as a long curved fruit with a yellow skin. BITES is the plural of the term BITE and it is defined as to grip, cut off or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws . The applicant features bananas that are eaten by tearing into them with the teeth or jaws (see dictionary definitions previously attached). Therefore the marks describes the goods.
In its response the applicant argues that the mark is suggestive. The examining attorney notes that there is nothing suggestive about the mark.
The examining attorney attaches evidence in the nature of excerpts from the Internet to show that BANANA BITES is highly descriptive when used in connection with chocolate dipped bananas. The evidence is intended to support a section 2(e)(1) descriptive refusal.
Therefore, for the reasons listed above, the refusal to register under section 2(e)(1) of the Trademarks Act is now continued and made FINAL.
(1) A response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements;
(2) An appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with the appeal fee of $100 per class.
37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(18); TBMP ch. 1200.
In certain rare circumstances, an applicant may respond by filing a petition to the Director pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review 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).
/Florentina Blandu/
Examining Attorney
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
l.o. 117
tel. (571) 272-9128
fax (571) 273-9128
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.