To: | Bell, Thomas (frijouf@frijouf.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 86386574 - VETBIOTEK - VBT.14001 |
Sent: | 12/24/2014 10:50:07 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM107@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86386574
MARK: VETBIOTEK
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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: Bell, Thomas
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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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: 12/24/2014
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.
SEARCH
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).
SECTION 2(e)(1) REFUSAL - MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
The applicant applied to register the mark VETBIOTEK for “Non-medicated topical dermatological preparations, namely, shampoos, sprays, wipes, mousse and liquid flushes for animals; non-medicated shampoo for animals; pet dry shampoos; non-medicated conditioners for animals; deodorants for animals; non-medicated grooming preparations for animals namely wipes; dental care products for animals, namely, mouth rinses, toothpastes, chewable sticks, rawhides, food additives and non-medicated mouth water additives.
BIOTEK is novel spelling of the term BIOTECH which is short for biotechnology and means “the manipulation (as through genetic engineering) of living organisms or their components to produce useful usually commercial products (as pest resistant crops, new bacterial strains, or novel pharmaceuticals); also : any of various applications of biological science used in such manipulation.” See the attached from a Merriam-Webster.com search of “BIOTEC” and “BIOTECHNOLOGY,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biotechnology?show=0&t=1419426737 (12/24/14); http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biotech (12/24/14). The term VET is an abbreviation for VETERINARY which is defined as “of, relating to, practicing, or being the science and art of prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease and injury in animals and especially domestic animals.” See the attached from a Merriam-Webster.com search of “VET” and “VETERINARY,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vet (12/22/14); http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veterinary (12/22/14). The combined wording indicates the goods are commercial biotechnology products for use on animals.
Only where the combination of descriptive terms creates a unitary mark with a unique, incongruous, or otherwise nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services is the combined mark registrable. See In re Colonial Stores, Inc., 394 F.2d 549, 551, 157 USPQ 382, 384 (C.C.P.A. 1968); In re Positec Grp. Ltd., 108 USPQ2d 1161, 1162-63 (TTAB 2013).
In this case, both the individual components and the composite result are descriptive of applicant’s goods and do not create a unique, incongruous, or nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods. Specifically, the goods in this case are biotech products for animals. Therefore, registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a feature of applicant’s goods.
SUPPLEMENTAL REGISTER- Advisory
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS
Non-medicated topical dermatological preparations, namely, shampoos, {the applicant must specify the type of sprays e.g., body sprays} sprays, {the applicant must specify the type of wipes e.g., wipes impregnated with skin cleanser}wipes, {specify the type of mousses e.g., shampoos in the form of a mouse}mousse and {specify the type of flushes and identify by common commercial name as flushes are generally classified in international Class 5} liquid flushes for animals; non-medicated shampoo for animals; pet dry shampoos; non-medicated conditioners for animals; deodorants for animals; non-medicated grooming preparations for animals namely, {the applicant must specify the type of wipes e.g., wipes impregnated with skin cleanser} wipes; home non-medicated dental care products for animals, namely, mouth rinses, toothpastes, chewable sticks in the nature of {identify specific goods by common commercial name}, rawhides, , in International Class 3.
Food additives and non-medicated mouth water additives in the nature of {identify specific goods by common commercial name because food additives whether medicated or not are generally classified in International Class 5}, in International Class 5.
Rawhide chews for pets, in International Class 18.
Please note that, while the identification of goods may be amended to clarify or limit the goods, adding to the goods or broadening the scope of the goods is not permitted. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Therefore, applicant may not amend the identification to include goods that are not within the scope of the goods set forth in the present identification.
For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and/or services in trademark applications, please see the online searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html.
Combined Applications
The application identifies goods in more than one international class; therefore, applicant must satisfy all the requirements below for each international class based on Trademark Act Section 1(b):
(1) List the goods and/or services by their international class number in consecutive numerical order, starting with the lowest numbered class.
(2) Submit a filing fee for each international class not covered by the fee(s) already paid (view the USPTO’s current fee schedule at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/tm_fee_info.jsp). The application identifies goods that are classified in at least 3 classes; however, applicant submitted a fee(s) sufficient for only 1 class. Applicant must either submit the filing fees for the classes not covered by the submitted fees or restrict the application to the number of classes covered by the fees already paid.
See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(6)-(7), 2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).
For an overview of the requirements for a Section 1(b) multiple-class application and how to satisfy the requirements online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, please go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/law/multiclass.jsp.
The filing fees for adding classes to an application are as follows:
(1) A $325 fee per class, when the fees are submitted with an electronic response filed online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp, via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).
(2) A $375 fee per class, when the fees are submitted with a paper response.
37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(i)-(ii); TMEP §§810, 1403.02(c).
If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney. All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response. See 37 C.F.R. §2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05. Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights. See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.
/enkajubi/
Elizabeth N. Kajubi
Examining Attorney
Law Office 107
(571) 272-2727
elizabeth.kajubi@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.