Offc Action Outgoing

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:

This letter responds to Applicant’s communication filed May 14, 2014. The amended identification of goods has been accepted and entered. However, after further examination the following issue has been raised.

FOREIGN REGISTRATION EXPIRED/DUE TO EXPIRE

The application specifies both a filing basis under Trademark Act Section 1 and reliance on a foreign registration(s) under Section 44(e). See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(a), (b), 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(1)-(3). Although applicant submitted a copy of a foreign registration to satisfy the statutory requirements for the Section 44(e) basis, the foreign registration on which this application is based expired on February 26, 2014. For an application filed under Section 44(e), the foreign registration must be in force at the time the United States issues a registration based on that foreign registration. 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(3)(iii); In re Societe D’Exploitation de la Marque Le Fouquet’s, 67 USPQ2d 1784, 1788-89 (TTAB 2003); TMEP §1004.01(a).

Therefore, applicant must provide a certificate of renewal or other certification from the intellectual property office of the foreign country or a copy of the foreign registration that shows that the foreign registration has been renewed and will be in force at the time the registration issues in the United States. 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(3)(iii); TMEP §1004.01(a). If the certificate of renewal or other certification is not written in English, applicant must also provide an English translation. See 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(3)(iii); TMEP §1004.01(a)-(b). The translation should be signed by the translator. See TMEP §1004.01(b).

Alternatively, applicant may rely on the Section 1 basis alone for obtaining a U.S. registration. See 37 C.F.R. §2.34(a)(1)-(2); TMEP §806.01(a), (b). If applicant wants to rely solely on the Section 1 basis and not provide proof of renewal of the foreign registration, applicant can request deletion of the Section 44(e) basis. See 37 C.F.R. §2.35(b)(1); TMEP §806.04.

RESPONSE GUIDELINES

For this application to proceed toward registration, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement raised in this Office action. If the action includes a refusal, applicant may provide arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn and the mark should register. Applicant may also have other options for responding to a refusal and should consider such options carefully. To respond to requirements and certain refusal response options, applicant should set forth in writing the required changes or statements.

If applicant does not respond to this Office action within six months of the issue/mailing date, or responds by expressly abandoning the application, the application process will end, the trademark will fail to register, and the application fee will not be refunded. See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.65(a), 2.68(a), 2.209(a); TMEP §§405.04, 718.01, 718.02. Where the application has been abandoned for failure to respond to an Office action, applicant’s only option would be to file a timely petition to revive the application, which, if granted, would allow the application to return to live status. See 37 C.F.R. §2.66; TMEP §1714. There is a $100 fee for such petitions. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.66(b)(1).

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

/VJ/

Gene V.J. Maciol, II

Attorney-advisor

Law Office 103

gene.maciol@uspto.gov

571-273-9280 fx

571-272-9280 ph

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.