Examiners Amendment

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

EXAMINER’S AMENDMENT

 

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 1/2/2016

 

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. 

 

           

APPLICATION HAS BEEN AMENDED:  In accordance with the authorization granted by Daniel R. Ford on December 31, 2015, the trademark examining attorney has amended the application as indicated below.  Please advise the undersigned immediately of any objections.  Otherwise, no response is necessary.  TMEP §707.  Any amendments to the identification of goods and/or services may clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but may not 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.

 

OWNER NAME

 

Applicant has clarified its owner name and entity type for the record by specifying that it is “Blue Current Brewery LLC” a LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3); TMEP §§803.03 et seq.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

 

After issuance of an examiner’s amendment, the trademark examining attorney will usually approve the mark for publication in the Official Gazette, a weekly publication of the USPTO.  The USPTO will then send a “Notice of Publication” to the applicant specifying the date of publication. 

 

The purpose of publishing applicant’s mark in the Official Gazette is to provide an opportunity to third parties who believe they may be damaged by registration of applicant’s mark to oppose its registration within thirty (30) days from the publication date.  An “opposition” is similar to a federal court proceeding, but this proceeding is held before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a USPTO administrative tribunal of administrative judges who issue decisions on such matters.  If an opposition proceeding is instituted to oppose registration of applicant’s mark, applicant will receive notice.  In such cases, due to the complexity of such matters, applicant may wish to hire an attorney.

 

If the mark is published based upon the actual use of the mark in commerce, or based on a foreign registration, and no party opposes its registration, the USPTO will normally register the mark and issue a registration certificate within approximately twelve (12) weeks after the date the mark was published.

 

If the mark is published based upon the applicant’s bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, the USPTO will issue a “Notice of Allowance” within approximately eight (8) weeks after the date the mark was published, if no party files an opposition.  Applicant then has six (6) months from the date of the Notice of Allowance to timely file a “Statement of Use” or to file a request for a six-month “Extension of Time to file a Statement of Use.”  Extension requests are granted for six-month increments and a maximum of five extension requests can be filed after the issuance of the Notice of Allowance.  If not filed within the six months after the Notice of Allowance issued, a Statement of Use must be filed within the time period of a previously granted extension of time.

 

Forms for extension requests and Statements of Use are available online at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/intent_to_use.jsp.  For more information about the additional requirements for intent to use applications, visit the USPTO website.  Only after a Statement of Use is approved by the trademark examining attorney will the USPTO issue a registration certificate.

 

ASSISTANCE

 

If applicant has questions regarding this Examiner’s Amendment, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney. 

 

/Kim L. Parks/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 112

571.272.6129

kimberly.parks@uspto.gov

 

 

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 Trademark Electronic Application System (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 1/2/2016 FOR U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO.86771429

 

Please follow the instructions below:

 

(1)  TO READ THE LETTER:  Click on this link or go to http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/, 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)  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

 

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.