Priority 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:

DATABASE SEARCH: The trademark examining attorney has searched the USPTO’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).

ISSUES APPLICANT MUST ADDRESS: On June 5, 2013, the trademark examining attorney and Leo M. Loughlin discussed the issues below. Applicant must timely respond to these issues. See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.62(a); TMEP §§708, 711.

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.

Telephone Response Suggested

Applicant is highly encouraged to telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney to resolve the issues raised in this Office action by examiner’s amendment.

Although a formal response may never be submitted by e-mail, an applicant may communicate informally by phone or e-mail with the trademark examining attorney to agree to a proposed amendment to the application that will immediately place the application in condition for publication for opposition, issuance of a registration, or suspension. See TMEP §707.

Summary of Issues that Applicant Must Address

The applicant must address the following issues:

(1) Identification of Goods

(2) Classification of Goods

(3) Multi-class Advisory and Requirements

(4) Refund Information

Identification of Goods – Clarification Needed

The identification of goods is definite (as is), but the classification 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 Applicant has classified the goods in two (2) classes (Classes 20 and 28) and paid for two (2) classes, but the goods appear (on their face) to be entirely Class 20 goods. Specifically, all “furniture” which would encompass “children’s furniture” are Class 20 goods. Additionally “seats” are Class 20 goods. The Examining Attorney has attached an ID Listing of goods that reference “seats” that may be on point (for the Applicant’s consideration). If the goods current listed in Class 28 are (a) clarified and (b) still within the scope of the original ID, but fall into a 2^nd class (outside of Class 20), then the Applicant has paid for a 2^nd class and this would be acceptable.

The suggestion below merely transfers all the goods into Class 20 and places all goods in just one (1) class (Class 20).

Proper classification of goods and services is a purely administrative matter within the sole discretion of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In re Tee-Pak, Inc., 164 USPQ 88, 89 (TTAB 1969).

Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate:

Cushions; Children’s furniture, namely, a baby seat made from plastic and/or polyurethane, in Class 20.

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.

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.

Classification of Goods

This Priority Action has been sent (as opposed to a no-call Examiner’s Amendment) to allow the Applicant the opportunity to clarify their goods (and possibly why they paid for two (2) classes).

Requirements for a Multi-class Application Based on Intent-to-Use (Section 1(b))

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 AND/OR SERVICES BY INTERNATIONAL CLASS: Applicant must list the goods and/or services by international class.

(2) PROVIDE FEES FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL CLASSES: Applicant must submit an application filing fee for each international class of goods and/or services 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).

Note: The applicant has paid for two (2) classes to date.

Refund of Fees Information

TMEP Section 405.04 states, in part:

Under 35 U.S.C. §42(d) and 37 C.F.R. §2.209, only money paid by mistake or in excess (when a fee is not required by statute or rule, or is not required in the amount paid) may be refunded. A mere change of purpose after the payment of money does not entitle a party to a refund. For example, if a party deletes a class from an application, or decides that it no longer wishes to go forward with an application or appeal, the party is not entitled to a refund.

Here, all the wording in the Identification of Goods could be viewed as acceptable (as is) and all within Class 20. If the Applicant retains the current wording, but simply places all the goods in Class 20, then the 2^nd fee was paid in excess of any amount that would have be required. The Applicant could solicit for a refund for the 2^nd class of goods.

If the applicant has any questions or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned examining attorney.

/Gina M. Fink/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 109

gina.fink@uspto.gov

571-272-9275

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.

Priority Action

PEANUT

Flocast, LLC

Priority Action

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

Telephone Response Suggested

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