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:

 

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 RESULTS

 

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).

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

 

The wording “clothing” in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in several international classes.  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.  Examples of acceptable identifications include the following:  “clothing for protection against accidents, irradiation and fire” in International Class 9; “surgical gowns” in International Class 10; “pet clothing” in International Class 18; and “shirts, shorts and pants” in International Class 25.  Therefore, applicant must amend the identification to specify the type of clothing.

 

If applicant’s clothing is classified in International Class 25, applicant should insert the word “namely,” after “clothing” and indicate the specific types of clothing items (e.g., shirts, pants, coats, dresses).

 

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate (changes in bolded text): 

 

Class 10:  Sex toys

 

Class 25: Clothing, namely, {indicate clothing, e.g. t-shirts, pants, headwear, footwear, dresses}

 

Class 38: Video-on-demand transmission services; video broadcasting; electronic, electric, and digital transmission of voice, data, and images, all in the field of adult entertainment

 

Class 41: Entertainment services, namely, providing a website featuring non-downloadable video, photographs, images, audio, and text in the field of adult entertainment via a global computer network

 

Class 42: Providing a website allowing users to download videos in the field of adult entertainment

 

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.

 

COLOR DESCRIPTION OF MARK

 

The mark description is incorrect in part.  Specifically, the drawing shows only the word HUB on an orange rectangular background. However, the mark description states that both PORN and HUB are on an orange background. The colors in the drawing, color claim, and mark description must all agree.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq.

 

Furthermore, applicant must provide a complete mark description because the mark description in the application does not include all elements and/or colors shown in the mark.  A complete mark description for a mark depicted in color must identify all the literal and design elements in the mark and specify where the colors appear in those elements.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §807.07(a)-(a)(ii).

 

If black, white, and/or gray are not being claimed as a color feature of the mark, applicant must exclude them 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.  See TMEP §807.07(d).

 

The following mark description is suggested, if accurate:

 

The mark consists of the stylized wording “PORN HUB,” with the “PORN” appearing in the color black, “HUB” in the color black on an orange rectangle, and all the foregoing appearing on a white background.

 

DISCLAIMER

 

Applicant must disclaim the wording “PORN” for Classes 10, 38, 41 and 42 because it merely describes an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and/or services, and thus is an unregistrable component of the mark.  See 15 U.S.C. §§1052(e)(1), 1056(a); DuoProSS Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 1251, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1755 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (quoting In re Oppedahl & Larson LLP, 373 F.3d 1171, 1173, 71 USPQ2d 1370, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2004)); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a). 

 

 

The term “porn” is a recognized abbreviated term for “pornography,” which is defined as “Sexually explicit writing, images, video, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.”  See attached definitions of “porn” and “pornography” from The American Heritage Dictionary, found at the following:

 

http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=porn

http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=pornography

 

Therefore, the wording describes the fact that the goods and services are used in pornography and/or feature pornography, e.g. sex toys used in pornography videos, transmission of pornography, non-downloadable material featuring pornography, software for downloading pornography.   Please note that the term “PORN” in the mark is separated from the word “HUB” by space, color, and design (i.e. the orange rectangle).

 

An applicant may not claim exclusive rights to terms that others may need to use to describe their goods and/or services in the marketplace.  See Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l, Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 1560, 21 USPQ2d 1047, 1051 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Aug. Storck KG, 218 USPQ 823, 825 (TTAB 1983).  A disclaimer of unregistrable matter does not affect the appearance of the mark; that is, a disclaimer does not physically remove the disclaimed matter from the mark.  See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d 978, 978, 144 USPQ 433, 433 (C.C.P.A. 1965); TMEP §1213. 

 

If applicant does not provide the required disclaimer, the USPTO may refuse to register the entire mark.  See In re Stereotaxis Inc., 429 F.3d 1039, 1040-41, 77 USPQ2d 1087, 1088-89 (Fed. Cir. 2005); TMEP §1213.01(b).

 

Applicant should submit a disclaimer in the following standardized format:

 

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “PORN” in International Classes 10, 38, 41 and 42, apart from the mark as shown.

 

For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this disclaimer requirement online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, please go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/law/disclaimer.jsp.

 

/Jean H. Im/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 101

(571) 272-9303

jean.im@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.