To: | VILORE FOODS COMPANY, INC (LGlick@porterwright.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85790194 - PRONTO - 064622 |
Sent: | 4/23/2013 12:42:38 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM116@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85790194
MARK: PRONTO
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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: VILORE FOODS COMPANY, 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: 4/23/2013
This letter responds to the applicant’s response dated April 20, 2013.
The applicant (1) argued against the potential citation of prior-filed Application Serial Nos. 85689809 and 85717521; and, (2) argued against the refusal to register the mark under Section 2(d) with regard to Reg. No. 3538720.
The potential citation of prior-filed Application Serial Nos. 85689809 and 85717521, and the refusal to register the mark under Section 2(d) with regard to Reg. No. 3538720, are maintained and continued.
NEW ISSUE – INQUIRY REGARDING WHO SIGNED THE RESPONSE
The applicant must verify who signed the response.
All documents must be personally signed. 37 C.F.R. §§2.193(a)(1), (c)(1), 11.18(a). The person(s) identified as the signatory must manually enter the elements of the electronic signature. Another person (e.g., paralegal, legal assistant, or secretary) may not sign the name of a qualified practitioner or other authorized signatory. See In re Dermahose Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1793 (TTAB 2007); In re Cowan, 18 USPQ2d 1407 (Comm’r Pats. 1990). Just as signing the name of another person on paper does not serve as the signature of the person whose name is written, typing the electronic signature of another person is not a valid signature by that person. TMEP §611.01(c).
In this case, the electronic signature provides “/Leslie Alan Glick by MRMJ/.” This implies that the electronic signature on the response was not entered by Leslie Alan Glick but, rather, by an individual whose initials are MRMJ.
ADVISORY REGARDING POSSIBLE NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE
The applicant is advised that if Leslie Alan Glick did not manually enter the elements of the electronic signature, then a Notice of Incomplete Response will be issued. If such a notice is issued, then:
What applicant must do to fix the problem: Applicant must resubmit the entire response, signed by a proper party, or provide an explanation of the signer’s legal authority to bind or represent applicant, as explained more fully below. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2). If submitting a newly signed response, applicant must also explicitly address and respond to all the issues raised in the outstanding Office action dated March 27, 2013. See37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03. The USPTO must receive a properly signed response or explanation within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of such letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(b); TMEP §§712.03, 718.03(b).
Applicant is encouraged to respond online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/index.jsp. To respond via TEAS, applicant must either (1) complete the entire response form again, responding to all issues raised in the outstanding Office action; or (2) provide an explanation as to the signer’s authority in the “miscellaneous statement” field in the TEAS response form. In the alternative, applicant may respond by fax at 571-273-9155.
TEAS PLUS APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY OR SUBMIT FEE: Applicants who filed their application online using the reduced-fee TEAS Plus application must continue to submit certain documents online using TEAS, including responses to Office actions. See 37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(1). For a complete list of these documents, see TMEP §819.02(b). In addition, such applicants must accept correspondence from the Office via e-mail throughout the examination process and must maintain a valid e-mail address. 37 C.F.R. §2.23(a)(2); TMEP §§819, 819.02(a). TEAS Plus applicants who do not meet these requirements must submit an additional fee of $50 per international class of goods and/or services. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iv); TMEP §819.04. In appropriate situations and where all issues can be resolved by amendment, responding by telephone to authorize an examiner’s amendment will not incur this additional fee.
/John Dwyer/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 116
571-272-9155
John.Dwyer1@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.