To: | National Tobacco Company, L.P. (ptodocket@bgdlegal.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 86079355 - RIPTIDE - 018275.04741 |
Sent: | 11/6/2013 9:28:18 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM113@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86079355
MARK: RIPTIDE
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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: National Tobacco Company, L.P.
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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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: 11/6/2013
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 October 5, 2013, the trademark examining attorney and Brian Chellgren 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.
Identification and Classification of Goods
Applicant’s goods are identified as “Electronic cigarettes, components for electronic cigarettes, disposable electronic cigarettes, electronic cigarette flavor cartridges” in International Class 34.
The wording “components for electronic cigarettes” in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in other international classes. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03. For example, “Cartridges sold filled with propylene glycol for electronic cigarettes” are properly classified in International Class 1, “Electronic cigarette batteries” are properly classified in International Class 9, “Chemical flavorings in liquid form used to refill electronic cigarette cartridges” are properly classified in International Class 30, and “Electronic cigarette refill cartridges sold empty” are properly classified in International Class 34.
The wording “electronic cigarette flavor cartridges” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the goods is unclear. See TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may change this wording to “cartridges sold filled with chemical flavorings in liquid form for electronic cigarettes,” if accurate. See TMEP §1402.01. PLEASE NOTE: If applicant adopts the suggested amendment, then applicant must reclassify these goods in International Class 30. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(7), 2.85; TMEP §§805, 1401.
Alternatively, if the goods identified as “components for electronic cigarettes” and “electronic cigarette flavor cartridges” are sold as a unit with electronic cigarettes (or disposable electronic cigarettes), then applicant may change this wording to “electronic cigarettes and components for electronic cigarettes, namely, {specify, e.g., atomizers, cartomizers, chemical flavorings in liquid form used to refill electronic cigarette cartridges, empty refill cartridges, batteries, charging devices and carrying cases for electronic cigarettes}, all sold together as a unit,” if accurate. See TMEP §1402.01.
Applicant may adopt the following identification of goods, if accurate [the examining attorney’s suggestions appear in bold, underlined text]:
Class 1: Components for electronic cigarettes, namely, cartridges sold filled with propylene glycol for electronic cigarettes
Class 9: Components for electronic cigarettes, namely, {specify, e.g., batteries, battery chargers, and carrying cases} for electronic cigarettes
Class 30: Components for electronic cigarettes, namely, chemical flavorings in liquid form used to refill electronic cigarette cartridges
Class 34: Electronic cigarettes, disposable electronic cigarettes; electronic cigarettes and components for electronic cigarettes, namely, {specify, e.g., atomizers, cartomizers, chemical flavorings in liquid form used to refill electronic cigarette cartridges, empty refill cartridges, batteries, charging devices and carrying cases for electronic cigarettes}, all sold together as a unit
ID Manual Online
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.
MULTIPLE CLASS APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
(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).
/Amy L. Kertgate/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 113
Tel: (571) 272-1943
Email: amy.kertgate@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.