To: | SUNRISE (SHENGZHOU) TEXTILES CO., LTD. (tlee@pryorcashman.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 87093054 - LIQUID COTTON - 15657.00004 |
Sent: | 5/12/2017 1:00:44 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM102@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 87093054
MARK: LIQUID COTTON
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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: SUNRISE (SHENGZHOU) TEXTILES CO., LTD.
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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. A RESPONSE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE TRADEMARK ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SYSTEM (TEAS) MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE MIDNIGHT EASTERN TIME OF THE LAST DAY OF THE RESPONSE PERIOD.
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 5/12/2017
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 $125 per 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 or e-mail without incurring this additional fee.
This Office action is supplemental to and supersedes the previous Office action issued on 5/12/17 in connection with this application. This Office action corrects an organizational flaw contained in the earlier-issued Office action. The examining attorney regrets any inconvenience to applicant as a result of the foregoing.
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This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on 4/18/17. The examining attorney has determined as follows:
Please see below for details.
THE CLAIM OF ACQUIRED DISTINCTIVENESS BASED ON AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF EXCLUSIVE AND CONTINUOUS USE IN COMMERCE IS UNACCEPTABLE. THEREFORE, THE REFUSAL TO REGISTER BECAUSE THE APPLIED-FOR MARK MERELY DESCRIBES FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF APPLICANT’S GOODS IS CONTINUED
In the 10/21/16 Office action, registration was refused because the applied-for mark merely describes features or characteristics of applicant’s goods. Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); see TMEP §§1209.01(b), 1209.03 et seq. Please see 10/21/16 Office action for details of this refusal.
In response, the applicant submitted the following claim of acquired distinctiveness:
The mark has become distinctive of the goods/services through the applicant's substantially exclusive and continuous use of the mark in commerce that the U.S. Congress may lawfully regulate for at least the five years immediately before the date of this statement.
In other words, applicant asserted a claim of acquired distinctiveness under Trademark Act Section 2(f) based on applicant’s use of the mark in commerce with applicant’s goods and/or services for five years prior to filing the application. See 15 U.S.C. §1052(f). However, the application indicates that the mark is not currently in use but will be used by applicant in the future. Thus, applicant needs to clarify whether applicant intends to claim acquired distinctiveness in his or her application or if applicant inadvertently included this claim of five years’ use. See 37 C.F.R. §2.61(b); TMEP §814.
If applicant intends to maintain this claim, applicant must satisfy the requirements specified in the following paragraph. See TMEP §1212.09(a)-(b). If applicant does not intend to maintain this claim, applicant should request the Section 2(f) claim be deleted from the application. See TMEP §1212.09(a).
An intent-to-use applicant who has used the same mark on related goods and/or services may assert a claim of acquired distinctiveness under Section 2(f) before filing an allegation of use, if applicant can establish that, as a result of applicant’s use of the same mark on other goods and/or services, the mark has become distinctive of the goods and/or services in the intent-to-use application, and that this previously created distinctiveness will transfer to the goods and/or services in the intent-to-use application when use in commerce begins. In re Dial-A-Mattress Operating Corp., 240 F.3d 1341, 1347, 57 USPQ2d 1807, 1812 (Fed. Cir. 2001); In re Binion, 93 USPQ2d 1531, 1538 (TTAB 2009); TMEP §1212.09(a).
INFORMATION REQUIREMENT CONTINUED
The 10/21/16 Office action includes an information requirement. Please see the 10/21/16 Office action for details of the information requirement.
Applicant has not responded in any way to this requirement. Therefore, the information requirement is continued.
Failure to comply with this request for information can be grounds for refusing registration. In re AOP LLC, 107 USPQ2d 1644, 1651 (TTAB 2013); In re DTI P’ship LLP, 67 USPQ2d 1699, 1701 (TTAB 2003); TMEP §814.
GENERAL RESPONSE GUIDELINES
For this application to proceed further, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement raised in this Office action. If the action includes a refusal, applicant may provide arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn and the mark should register. Applicant may also have other options specified in this Office action for responding to a refusal and should consider those options carefully. To respond to requirements and certain refusal response options, applicant should set forth in writing the required changes or statements. For more information and general tips on responding to USPTO Office actions, response options, and how to file a response online, see “Responding to Office Actions” on the USPTO’s website.
If applicant does not respond to this Office action within six months of the issue/mailing date, or responds by expressly abandoning the application, the application process will end and the trademark will fail to register. See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.65(a), 2.68(a); TMEP §§718.01, 718.02. Additionally, the USPTO will not refund the application filing fee, which is a required processing fee. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1)(i)-(iv), 2.209(a); TMEP §405.04.
When an application has abandoned for failure to respond to an Office action, an applicant may timely file a petition to revive the application, which, if granted, would allow the application to return to active status. See 37 C.F.R. §2.66; TMEP §1714. The petition must be filed within two months of the date of issuance of the notice of abandonment and may be filed online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) with a $100 fee. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(15)(ii), 2.66(b)(1).
/Nancy L. Clarke/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 102
Tel. (571) 272-9253
E-mail: nancy.clarke@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.