To: | RA Brands, L.L.C. (trademarkswinston@wcsr.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85762282 - DPMS PANTHER ARMS - 27584.0782.1 |
Sent: | 1/11/2013 9:27:30 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM103@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85762282
MARK: DPMS PANTHER ARMS
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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: RA Brands, L.L.C.
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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: 1/11/2013
SEARCH RESULTS
The Office records have been searched and no similar registered or pending mark has been found that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02.
Applicant must respond to the following requirements.
DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENT
The applicant must insert a disclaimer of "ARMS" in the application because ARMS merely describes the nature of applicant's goods, namely, weapons collectively. See 15 U.S.C. §1056(a); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a). Please see identification of goods.
The Office can require an applicant to disclaim an unregistrable part of a mark consisting of particular wording, symbols, numbers, design elements or combinations thereof. 15 U.S.C. §1056(a). Under Section 2(e) of the Trademark Act, the Office can refuse registration of an entire mark if the entire mark is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive of the goods. 15 U.S.C. §1052(e). Thus, the Office may require an applicant to disclaim a portion of a mark that, when used in connection with the goods or services, is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, primarily geographically descriptive, or otherwise unregistrable (e.g., generic). TMEP §1213.03(a).
A "disclaimer" is a statement that applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of a mark. TMEP §1213. A disclaimer does not affect the appearance of the applied-for mark. See TMEP §1213.10.
A disclaimer does not physically remove the disclaimed matter from the mark, but rather is a written statement that applicant does not claim exclusive rights to the disclaimed wording and/or design separate and apart from the mark as shown in the drawing. TMEP §§1213, 1213.10.
The following cases further explain the disclaimer requirement: Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int'l Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 21 USPQ2d 1047 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Brown-Forman Corp., 81 USPQ2d 1284 (TTAB 2006); In re Kraft, Inc., 218 USPQ 571 (TTAB 1983).
Applicant may submit the following standardized format for a disclaimer:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “ARMS” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
Identification of goods/services
General Guidelines
In the identification of goods, applicant must use the common commercial or generic names for the goods, be as complete and specific as possible, and avoid the use of indefinite words and phrases. If applicant uses indefinite words such as “accessories,” “components,” “devices,” “equipment,” “materials,” “parts,” “systems” or “products,” such words must be followed by “namely,” followed by a list of the specific goods identified by their common commercial or generic names. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03(a).
Unacceptable identification
PLEASE NOTE: Recommended changes and suggestions to applicant’s identification have been highlighted in bold. If the recommended changes and suggestions contain brackets, applicant must remove any brackets from the identification and incorporate the bracketed information into the amended description.
Class 013
Applicant filed the following identification:
“Firearms and replacement and structural parts therefor”
Some of the wording in the identification of goods and/or services above is indefinite and must be clarified because the exact nature of the goods and/or services is unclear. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.
The following substitute identification with amended wording is suggested, if appropriate:
“Firearms and replacement and structural parts therefor, NAMELY, {FURTHER SPECIFY WITHIN THIS CLASS BY COMMON COMMERCIAL NAME}” in Class 013
Note:
1. Applicant is encouraged to reference the Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services for common commercial names within this class.
IDENTIFICATION MANUAL AND SCOPE ADVISORIES
For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and/or services 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.
RESPONSE
/Paul Moreno/
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Attorney
Law Office 103
571-272-2651
paul.moreno@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.