To: | Xiamen Meitu Technology Co., Ltd (jinhonglaiguoji@163.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 86151701 - MEITU - N/A |
Sent: | 3/27/2014 4:06:11 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM106@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86151701
MARK: MEITU
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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: Xiamen Meitu Technology Co., Ltd
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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OFFICE ACTION
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 3/27/2014
STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: To avoid abandonment of applicant’s trademark application, the USPTO must receive a properly signed response within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES that applicant must address:
NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE
The problem with applicant’s response: Applicant filed a response on March 13, 2014 that appears to have been improperly signed by applicant instead of applicant’s attorney. See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i). Where an applicant is represented by an attorney who may practice before the USPTO, the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01. The USPTO cannot accept an improperly signed response; therefore, the contents will not be reviewed. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§712, 712.03, 718.03.
What applicant must do to fix the problem: Applicant must satisfy one of the following:
(1) Submit a response properly signed by applicant’s attorney.
(2) File a revocation of attorney signed by applicant and then resubmit a response properly signed by applicant.
(3) File a new power of attorney signed by applicant and then resubmit a response properly signed by applicant’s new attorney.
See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(1)(i), (c), 2.19(a)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2)(i).
The resubmitted response must explicitly address and respond to all the issues raised in the outstanding Office action dated March 6, 2014. See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03. The USPTO must receive a properly signed response per the above within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(b); TMEP §§712.03, 718.03(b).
Applicant is encouraged to respond online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/index.jsp. To respond via TEAS, applicant must complete the entire response form again, responding to all issues raised in the outstanding Office action. Revocations and powers of attorney forms can also be filed online via TEAS.
If the outstanding Office action was a final Office action, please note that the granting of additional time to perfect a response does not extend the time for filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or a petition to the Director under 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b). TMEP §718.03(b). An applicant must file a notice of appeal or petition within six months of the issuance date of a final action. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.64(b), 2.142(a).
What happens if the USPTO does not receive a properly signed response within the specified time period: If applicant does not properly respond within the specified time period, this application will be abandoned because applicant filed an incomplete response. 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §§715.03(a)(2)(E), 718.03. In such case, applicant may file a petition to the Director to request a reversal of the decision to abandon the application. TMEP §§718.03(b), 1713.01-.02; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(a)(3). The petition must be filed within two months of the date of issuance of the notice of abandonment and may be filed online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/petition_forms.jsp. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.66(a)(1), 2.146(d); TMEP §§1705.04, 1714.01(a), (d). A $100 fee for such a petition is required. See 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).
GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING RESPONSES
As stated above, where an applicant is represented by an attorney who may practice before the USPTO, the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01. In that situation, an applicant may not sign the response, unless the applicant has filed a revocation of attorney with the USPTO before submitting the response. See 37 C.F.R. §2.19(a)(2); TMEP §§606, 611.03(b).
Where an applicant is not represented by an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner). See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §§611.03(b), 611.06(b)-(h), 712.01. In the case of joint applicants, all must sign. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §611.06(a).
In addition, the proper signatory must personally sign or personally enter his or her electronic signature. See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(a), (e)(2); TMEP §§611.01(b), 611.02. The name of the signatory must also be printed or typed immediately below or adjacent to the signature, or identified elsewhere in the filing. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(d); TMEP §611.01(b).
RESPONSE GUIDELINES
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).
Alison F. Pollack
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 106
571-272-4592
alison.pollack@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.