To: | IMDb.com, Inc. (docket@amazon.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 86049642 - IMDB - N/A |
Sent: | 12/16/2013 4:38:02 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM110@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86049642
MARK: IMDB
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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: IMDb.com, Inc.
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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FIRST 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: 12/16/2013
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.
No Conflicting 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).
The application may not proceed to registration until the applicant responds to the following.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES that applicant must address:
Identification Of Goods
Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate: Computer application software for mobile devices for use in providing users with access to searchable databases; software for creating searchable databases; software for wireless content delivery; downloadable software featuring an entertainment database featuring [clarify nature of entertainment database, e.g., information about motion picture films] for use on computers and mobile devices; software for accessing information on the Internet or other computer or communications network; software for transmitting, receiving, downloading, streaming, and displaying content, text, visual works, audiovisual works, data, files and electronic works via the Internet or other computer or communications network; software for formatting and converting content, text, visual works, audiovisual works, data, files and electronic works into a format compatible with portable electronic devices and computers; software enabling content, text, visual works, audiovisual works, data, files and electronic works to be downloaded to and accessed on a computer or other portable consumer electronic device.
Additions To Identification Not Permitted
For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and 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.
Specifically, the attached evidence from acronymfinder.com shows this wording means Internet Movie Database. Therefore, such wording merely describes a feature of the goods, which presumably includes a database of internet movies.
A “disclaimer” is a statement in the application record that applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of a mark; a disclaimer of unregistrable matter does not affect the appearance of the mark or physically remove disclaimed matter from the mark. See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d 978, 978, 144 USPQ 433, 433 (C.C.P.A. 1965); TMEP §1213. An unregistrable component of a mark includes wording and designs that are merely descriptive of an applicant’s goods and/or services. 15 U.S.C. §1052(e); see TMEP §§1209.03(f), 1213.03 et seq. Such words or designs need to be freely available for other businesses to market comparable goods or services and should not become the proprietary domain of any one party. See Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l, Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 1560, 21 USPQ2d 1047, 1051 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Aug. Storck KG, 218 USPQ 823, 825 (TTAB 1983).
Applicant may submit the following standardized format for a disclaimer:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “IMDB” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
Claim Of Ownership Of Prior Registrations
Applicant may use the following format to claim ownership of these registrations:
Applicant is the owner of U.S. Registration Nos. 2609882, 2612776, 2730592 and 3936436.
Color Claim/Description
A complete color claim must reference all the colors appearing in the drawing of the mark. See 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq. Similarly, a complete mark description for a mark depicted in color must identify all the literal and design elements in the mark and specify where the colors appear in those elements. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq. However, if black, white, and/or gray are not being claimed as a color feature of the mark, applicant must exclude them from the color claim and include in the mark description a statement that the colors black, white, and/or gray represent background, outlining, shading, and/or transparent areas and are not part of the mark. See TMEP §807.07(d).
The following color claim and mark description are suggested, if accurate:
Color claim: “The colors yellow, dark yellow and black are claimed as a feature of the mark.”
Mark description: “The mark consists of a dark yellow square border with rounded corners containing the letters “IMDb” in black, and two conical yellow shapes resembling searchlights emanating from the bottom of the square to the upper corners.”
Applicant May Wish To Seek Trademark Counsel
For attorney referral information, applicant may consult the American Bar Association’s Consumers’ Guide to Legal Help at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/home.cfm, an attorney referral service of a state or local bar association, or a local telephone directory. The USPTO may not assist an applicant in the selection of a private attorney. 37 C.F.R. §2.11.
Applicant’s Response
To expedite prosecution of the application, applicant is encouraged to file its response to this Office action online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), which is available at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/index.jsp. If applicant has technical questions about the TEAS response to Office action form, applicant can review the electronic filing tips available online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/e_filing_tips.jsp and email technical questions to TEAS@uspto.gov.
I hereby certify that this correspondence is being deposited with the United States Postal Service with sufficient postage as first class mail in an envelope addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1451, on the date below.
________________________________________________
(Signature)
________________________________________________
(Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing Certificate)
________________________________________________
(Date)
/Andrea Koyner Nadelman/
Andrea Koyner Nadelman
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 110
571-272-9370
andrea.nadelman@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.