UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

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: 9/6/2015

 

 

 

 

 

TEAS PLUS OR TEAS REDUCED FEE (TEAS RF) APPLICANTS – TO MAINTAIN LOWER FEE, ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET, INCLUDING SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS ONLINE:  Applicants who filed their application online using the lower-fee TEAS Plus or TEAS RF application form must (1) file certain documents online using TEAS, including responses to Office actions (see TMEP §§819.02(b), 820.02(b) for a complete list of these documents); (2) maintain a valid e-mail correspondence address; and (3) agree to receive correspondence from the USPTO by e-mail throughout the prosecution of the application.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.22(b), 2.23(b); TMEP §§819, 820.  TEAS Plus or TEAS RF applicants who do not meet these requirements must submit an additional processing fee of $50 per international class of goods and/or services.  37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1)(v), 2.22(c), 2.23(c); TMEP §§819.04, 820.04.  However, in certain situations, TEAS Plus or TEAS RF applicants may respond to an Office action by authorizing an examiner’s amendment by telephone without incurring this additional fee. 

 

 

The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney.

 

 

No Conflicting Marks  

The examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered or pending mark which would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  TMEP §704.02.

 

However, the applicant must address the following informalities.

 

 

Color Claim and Description of the Mark

The color claim does not identify all the colors in the drawing of the mark.  Specifically, the following colors have been omitted:  light blue, dark blue, white.  A complete color claim must list 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.  If black, white, and/or gray are not being claimed as a color feature of the mark, applicant must exclude these 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.  TMEP §807.07(d). 

 

The following description of the mark is suggested.

 

Based on the foregoing requirements for a complete color claim, applicant must provide a color claim that references all of the colors appearing in the drawing of the mark.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq.

 

The following color claim is suggested: 

 

The colors light blue, blue, dark blue, and white are claimed as a feature of the mark.

 

The description of the mark uses broad, vague language that does not accurately describe the applied-for mark.  Applications for marks not in standard characters must include an accurate and concise description that identifies all literal elements as well as any design elements in the mark.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.37; TMEP §808.02. 

 

Therefore, applicant must provide a more detailed description of the applied-for mark.  The following is suggested:

 

The mark consists of a design of two triangles with curved sides, one on top of the other, with the color light blue appearing in the visible portions of the bottom triangle, the color blue appearing in the visible portions of the top triangle, and the color dark blue appearing where the triangles overlap.  The wording MAVEA appears in white in the center, with a light blue triangle appearing within the space created by the letter “V.”

 

 

Identification and Classification of Goods and Services

The identification is unacceptable for the reasons outlined below, addressed by International Class.

 

International Class 001

• The wording “ion-exchangers” is overly broad and could identify goods in other International Classes.

 

• Applicant must specify that the “adsorbents” are “chemical” and intended for removing impurities from fuel.

 

• Applicant must specify the area of or use or industry or indicate that the “activated carbon” is for general industrial use.

 

• The nature of the goods intended by the wording “carbon block” is not clear.

 

 

International Class 005

The wording is acceptable as written.

 

 

International Class 007

• The wording “beverage making apparatus and installations comprising it” is overly broad and includes goods in other International Classes.

 

• The identification appears to be missing punctuation.        

 

·       The identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because it contains the open-ended wording “including.”  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03(a).  The identification must be specific and all-inclusive.  Therefore, this wording should be deleted and replaced with “namely.”

 

·       Applicant has incorrectly classified “water heaters.”

 

 

International Class 011

• The wording “appliances for the preparation and/or dispensing of beverages” is overly broad because the goods in International Class 011 are for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply, and sanitary purposes only.

 

• The word “equipment” is overly broad.

 

• The punctuation is inconsistent and confusing.

 

• Applicant must specify the type of “purifiers.”

 

• Applicant must indicate that the “membrane filters” are not parts of machines.

 

• Applicant must indicate the function of the “filter disk, filter pad, substrate bag, tank filter; filter connection, filter head in particular with sensory components.”

 

• “Filter connections” “filter heads” “water treatment appliance” “water soda machines” “water intake apparatus” “water bearing armatures, namely, tubes” “water extraction devices” are indefinite.  Applicant must specify the common commercial names of these goods.

 

 

International Class 021

• The wording “household appliances for the preparation of carbonated water and beverages” “cooling bottles and elements for beverages, for the household, if they are not included in other classes” “hand-operated devices for the household for the production of carbonated water samples and beverages” is indefinite.

 

• “Utensils and containers for household or kitchen made from plastic or glass” is overly broad.

 

• The punctuation is inconsistent and confusing.

 

• “Glassware, porcelain and faience wares” and “dishwasher accessories” is overly broad.

 

 

International Class 032

• The wording “goods for the production of mineral water, carbonated waters, table water, drinking water, spring waters, mineral water” is overly broad.

 

• Applicant must indicate the types of beverages made with the “syrups and other preparations for making beverages.”

 

• The punctuation is confusing.

 

• “On the basis of” must be clarified.

 

 

International Class 035

• “Merchandising” “order taking” is indefinite.

 

• “Delivery” is indefinite and misclassified.

 

• The wording “invoice processing, also in the context of e-commerce” “consumer advice” “presentation of goods and services” is overly broad.

 

• “Software for internet and mobile devices, mobile applications” is indefinite and misclassified.

 

 

International Class 037

Applicant must more specifically identify the “machines.”

 

 

International Class 040

• The wording “rental of … coffee, tea, sugar donors” requires clarification because the nature of the services intended by “rental of donors” is not obvious.

 

• The wording “processing .. of water filters, water filtration devices and their components” must be clarified to indicate the nature of the “processing.”

 

• “Delivery,” “installation,” has been misclassified.

 

• “Customer service” and “exchange service” is overly broad and misclassified.  Applicant should note that these services must be performed “for others.”

 

• “Cleaning” and “maintenance” have been misclassified.

 

• “Personalization” requires clarification.

 

• Applicant must indicate the type of “financial services.”

 

 

Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate.

 

Ion-exchangers, namely, [specify, e.g., chemical preparations in the nature of ion-exchange resin membranes]; ion-exchange resin; chemical adsorbents for removing impurities from fuel; activated carbon for general industrial use; carbon block, namely, [specify the common commercial name of the goods] in International Class 001.

 

Food supplements for non-medical purposes on the basis of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, calcium, magnesia, trace elements, syrups, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid either individually or in combination; food supplements for non-medical purposes in the form of drinks and/or preparations for making beverages in International Class 005.

 

Non-aerated beverage making machines; electric appliances and machines for the preparation of aerated beverages; electromechanical appliances and installations for preparation and dispensing of hot and cold water and/or beverages, namely, dispensing machines; water soda machines, namely, vending machines for water and soda in International Class 007.

 

Downloadable software and downloadable mobile applications for [specify the function of the software, e.g., use in electronic storage of data, game software, and, if software is content- or field-specific, the field of use] in International Class 009.

 

Water heaters; beverage cooling machines; filters and apparatus for disinfection of water and for the removal of bacteria and viruses; water purifiers; filters for drinking water; membrane filters, not parts of machines, for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nano filtration, reverse osmosis; filter disks, filter pads, substrate bags, tank filters, all for filtering drinking water; filter connections and filter heads, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods in this class] in particular with sensory components; water-treatment-appliance, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods]; water filtering apparatus; water treatment equipment, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods]; water filter and water filtration equipment based on membrane technology, reverse osmosis technology, UV technology, ozone technology, coal technology especially with activated carbon coal blocks and charcoal pads, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods]; water filters and water filtration devices for water disinfection on microbiological basis; water filters, namely, pressure-driven filter, gravity-operated filter, suction filter cartridges, manually driven filter cartridges, filter cartridges based on sinking mechanism, filter cartridges containing ion exchangers and/or adsorbents, especially for the use in filters for water, kettles, coffee machines, tea machines, espresso machines, samovars, rice cooker, vending machines, gastronomy appliances, ice making machines, steamers, combination steamers, ovens, bulk brewer, dishwashers, refrigerators, cooling units, drinks mixers, cold drink dispensers, kitchen fittings, except for filters for engines and motors; water filtering apparatus, namely, water bearing armatures, armatures in particular for water taps with integrated filter systems; water filtering apparatus, namely, water bearing armatures being tubes as a part of a water conduits installations as part of a control water meter and as part of water supply installations; water extraction devices, namely, temperature-controlled beverage and water dispensers; water treatment devices, namely, [specify the common commercial name of the device] equipped with blending, consumption indicator, water-conducting fittings, filters, enrichment unit, heater, cooling unit, taste unit, carbon unit; equipment for water treatment, namely, [specify the common commercial name of the equipment in International Class 011.

 

Household appliances, namely, gas pressurized beverage siphon containers, and gas cartridges sold empty for the preparation of carbonated water and beverages; non-electric coffee and tea maker; utensils and containers for household or kitchen made from plastic or glass, namely, carafes, bottles, cups, cups with and without filter; non-electric coffee pots and teapots, tumblers, drinking container in the form of bottles, bowls; beverage glassware; porcelain and faience wares, namely, [specify, e.g., teacups]; vacuum flasks, containers and jars for beverages; beverage cooling receptacles containing heat exchange fluid for household purposes; dishwasher accessories, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods in this class]; portable beverage dispensers in International Class 021.

 

Filtered water; goods, namely, [specify the common commercial names of the goods in this class] for the production of mineral water, carbonated waters, table water, drinking water, spring waters, mineral water; carbonated drinks; soft drinks, fruit drinks and fruit nectars; syrups and other preparations for making beverages, namely, [indicate the types of beverages, e.g., fruit drinks]; soft drinks made with natural mineral water and fruit extracts, flavored mineral water, flavored drinking water each with flavoring additives and raw materials for the production of the aforementioned drinks in International Class 032.

 

Advertising, product merchandising for others, sales promotion, telephone order taking services for others, preparing invoices for business purposes; commercial advice for consumers via telecommunication networks; the bringing together, for the benefit of others, of a variety of goods and services, enabling customers to conveniently view and purchase those goods and services from an Internet web site particularly specializing in the marketing of the sale of goods and services of others; business management; customer service, namely, [specify, e.g., responding to customers inquiries for others in the field of water filtration]; exchange services, namely, [specify, e.g., bartering of goods for others] in International Class 035.

 

 

Facilitating and arranging for the financing of purchasing, hiring, maintaining, and servicing water filter equipment and beverage dispensers in International Class 036.

 

Installation, maintenance and repair of machines for [indicate specific items]; installation of kitchen equipment; installation and repair of refrigeration equipment; installation and repair of electrical appliances; installation of beverage dispensers and faucets; cleaning and maintenance of water filtration equipment, filters, and components in International Class 037.

 

Delivery of goods; delivery of filtration products and accessories in International Class 039.

 

Rental of water filters, water filtration equipment, and machines for processing coffee, tea, and sugar; processing, namely, [specify, e.g., waste processing] of water filters, water filtration devices and their components; recycling of water filters, water filtration devices and their components;  ; personalization, namely, custom imprinting of bottles in International Class 040.

 

Providing temporary use of non-downloadable software and downloadable mobile applications for [specify the function of the software, e.g., use in electronic storage of data, game software, and, if software is content- or field-specific, the field of use] in International Class 042.

 

An applicant may only amend an identification to clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but not to add to or broaden the scope of the goods and/or services.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07.

 

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 Applications

The application identifies goods and/or services in more than one international class; therefore, applicant must satisfy all the requirements below for each international class based on Trademark Act Section 1(b0:

 

(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 and/or services that are classified in at least 13 classes; however, applicant submitted a fee(s) sufficient for only nine class(es).  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.

 

 

Questions Regarding Office Action

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. §§2.62(c), 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.

 

 

 

 

/allison holtz/

Allison Holtz

Trademark Examining Attorney

571.272.9383

allison.holtz@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.

 

 

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YOUR

U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

USPTO OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) HAS ISSUED

ON 9/6/2015 FOR U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86673771

 

Please follow the instructions below:

 

(1)  TO READ THE LETTER:  Click on this link or go to http://tsdr.uspto.gov,enter the U.S. application serial number, and click on “Documents.”

 

The Office action may not be immediately viewable, to allow for necessary system updates of the application, but will be available within 24 hours of this e-mail notification.

 

(2)  TIMELY RESPONSE IS REQUIRED:  Please carefully review the Office action to determine (1) how to respond, and (2) the applicable response time period.  Your response deadline will be calculated from 9/6/2015 (or sooner if specified in the Office action).  For information regarding response time periods, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/responsetime.jsp.

 

Do NOT hit “Reply” to this e-mail notification, or otherwise e-mail your response because the USPTO does NOT accept e-mails as responses to Office actions.  Instead, the USPTO recommends that you respond online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) response form located at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp.

 

(3)  QUESTIONS:  For questions about the contents of the Office action itself, please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney.  For technical assistance in accessing or viewing the Office action in the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system, please e-mail TSDR@uspto.gov.

 

WARNING

 

Failure to file the required response by the applicable response deadline will result in the ABANDONMENT of your application.  For more information regarding abandonment, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/basics/abandon.jsp.

 

PRIVATE COMPANY SOLICITATIONS REGARDING YOUR APPLICATION:  Private companies not associated with the USPTO are using information provided in trademark applications to mail or e-mail trademark-related solicitations.  These companies often use names that closely resemble the USPTO and their solicitations may look like an official government document.  Many solicitations require that you pay “fees.” 

 

Please carefully review all correspondence you receive regarding this application to make sure that you are responding to an official document from the USPTO rather than a private company solicitation.  All official USPTO correspondence will be mailed only from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, VA; or sent by e-mail from the domain “@uspto.gov.”  For more information on how to handle private company solicitations, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/solicitation_warnings.jsp.