To: | OMS Investments, Inc. (HWRITM@hunton.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 85801247 - MIRACLE-GRO - N/A |
Sent: | 3/21/2013 9:03:32 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM108@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 85801247
MARK: MIRACLE-GRO
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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: OMS Investments, 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: 3/21/2013
SEARCH OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS
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).
Although no similar registered or pending mark has been found that would bar registration, applicant must satisfy the following requirements.
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS
The Office requires a degree of particularity necessary to identify clearly goods and/or services covered by a mark. See In re Omega SA, 494 F.3d 1362, 1365, 83 USPQ2d 1541, 1543-44 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Descriptions of goods and services in applications must be specific, explicit, clear and concise. TMEP §1402.01; see In re Cardinal Labs., Inc., 149 USPQ 709, 711 (TTAB 1966); Cal. Spray-Chem. Corp. v. Osmose Wood Pres. Co. of Am., 102 USPQ 321, 322 (Comm’r Pats. 1954).
Descriptions of goods and services should use the common, ordinary name for the goods and/or services. TMEP §1402.01. If there is no common, ordinary name for the goods and/or services, applicant should describe the goods and/or services using wording that would be generally understood by the average person. See Schenley Indus., Inc. v. Battistoni, 112 USPQ 485, 486 (Comm’r Pats. 1957); Cal. Spray-Chem. Corp. v. Osmose Wood Pres. Co. of Am., 102 USPQ 321, 322 (Comm’r Pats. 1954); TMEP §1402.01.
An in depth knowledge of the relevant field should not be necessary for understanding a description of the goods and/or services. TMEP §1402.01. “[T]echnical, high-sounding verbiage” should be avoided. Cal. Spray-Chem., 102 USPQ at 322.
Applicant must address the following issues and may adopt the suggested language, if accurate:
Please note that the suggested language is underlined.
International Class 7 - Power lawn and garden tools and equipment, namely ____________ (Applicant must specify the common commercial name of the tools and equipment, e.g. chippers, shredders, etc.)
International Class 8 – Non-power, hand-operated lawn and garden tools and equipment, namely ____________ (Applicant must specify the common commercial name of the tools and equipment, e.g. chippers, shredders, etc.)
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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
/Alain J. Lapter/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 108
500 Dulany Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22316
(571) 272-3162
alain.lapter@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.