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: 3/27/2015

 

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 OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS

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).

 

IDENTIFICATIONS REQUIRE AMENDMENT

The International Class 12 and 20 identifications are acceptable.

 

The remaining identifications of goods are unacceptable because certain goods are either indefinitely worded and/or misclassified. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03(a).

 

Applicant may change the wording to the following, if accurate [please note that the current unacceptable entries appear italicized, and suggested wording the applicant must provide appears in bold]:

 

Class 3:           Cleaning preparations; bleach, namely [indicate type, e.g., laundry bleach, hair bleach]; grease and grime cleaning preparations; hand cleaners; wipes impregnated with a cleaning preparation.

 

Class 5:           Hand sanitizer, all-purpose disinfectants in liquid and spray forms.

 

Class 6:           Non-luminous and non-mechanical metal safety signs.

 

Class 7:           Vacuum cleaner accessories, namely, vacuum cleaner bags, belts and filters and parts and accessories therefor, namely [identify the Class 7 accessories by their common commercial names]; hand operated drum pumps.

 

Class 8:           Hand-pumped sprayers for the janitorial industry and parts and accessories therefor, namely [identify the Class 7 accessories by their common commercial names].

 

Class 9:           Safety equipment, namely, safety cones, luminous and mechanical safety signs.

 

Class 16:         Plastic food storage bags for household use.

 

Class 17:         Plastic safety tape used for perimeter marking; Safety tape, namely, adhesive anti-slip tape for flooring applications; Safety tape, namely, reflective tape for use in [indicate field of use].

 

Class 21:         Mops; mop heads; mop handles; mop wringers; mop head finish applicators; mop pads; buckets; cleaning cloths and rags; brooms; broom handles; braces for brooms; waste baskets; trash cans; squeegees; scrubbing brushes; dusters; feather dusters; polywool dusters; lambswool dusters; grill scrubbers; sponges for household purposes; scouring pads; toilet plungers; toilet bowl brushes; dust pans; lint rollers and replacement parts therefor; antimicrobial mop heads; antimicrobial mop handles.

 

Class 24:         Shop towels, namely, towels for use in salons and barber shops.

 

Class 26:         Beard nets; hair nets; hair caps used as applicators for hair conditioners and colorants.

 

TMEP §1402.01.

 

PLEASE NOTE: An applicant may amend an identification of goods and services only to clarify or limit the goods and services; adding to or broadening the scope of the goods and/or services is not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07 et seq.

                                                                                                                                       

For assistance with identifying 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.

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MULTIPLE-CLASS APPLICATION

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(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 and/or services that are classified in at least thirteen classes; however, applicant submitted a fees sufficient for only nine classes.  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.

 

FAILURE TO RESPOND – ABANDONMENT OF SPECIFIC GOODS

If applicant does not respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, the following goods in International Classes 3, 5, 7, 9, 16, 21 and 26 will be deleted from the application:  bleach, grease and grime cleaners, in International Class 3; disinfectant liquids and disinfectant sprays, in International Class 5; and accessories therefor, in International Class 7; safety signs, safety tape, in International Class 9; Food storage bags, in International Class 16; shop towels; Hand-pumped sprayers for the janitorial industry and parts and accessories therefor; sponges, in International Class 21; and hair caps, in International Class 26.

 

The application will then proceed with the following goods in International Classes 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 20, 21 and 26 only:  Cleaning preparations; hand cleaners; wipes impregnated with a cleaning preparation, in International Class 3; Hand sanitizer, all-purpose disinfectants, in International Class 5; Vacuum cleaner accessories, namely, vacuum cleaner bags, belts and filters and parts therefor; hand operated drum pumps, in International Class 7; Safety equipment, namely, safety cones, in International Class 9; Utility carts; service carts; cube trucks; tilt trucks; dollies, in International Class 12; Plastic door stops, in International Class 20; Mops; mop heads; mop handles; mop wringers; mop head finish applicators; mop pads; buckets; cleaning cloths and rags; brooms; broom handles; braces for brooms; waste baskets; trash cans; squeegees; scrubbing brushes; dusters; feather dusters; polywool dusters; lambswool dusters; grill scrubbers; scouring pads; toilet plungers; toilet bowl brushes; dust pans; lint rollers and replacement parts therefor; antimicrobial mop heads; antimicrobial mop handles, in International Class 21; and Beard nets; hair nets, in International Class 26. See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)-(a)(1); TMEP §718.02(a).

 

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.

 

 

 

/Ronald L. Fairbanks/

Ronald L. Fairbanks

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 119

(571) 272-9405

ron.fairbanks@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 3/27/2015 FOR U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 86480848

 

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 3/27/2015 (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.