To: | Morris, James (trademarks@legalforce.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 87098401 - ACTIVE LIQUID MINERALS - 425365 |
Sent: | 10/21/2016 4:42:24 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM119@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 87098401
MARK: ACTIVE LIQUID MINERALS
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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: Morris, James
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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.
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 10/21/2016
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.
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).
“Whether consumers could guess what the product [or service] is from consideration of the mark alone is not the test.” In re Am. Greetings Corp., 226 USPQ 365, 366 (TTAB 1985).
The applicant seeks to register the mark for ACTIVE LIQUID MINERALS for use on vitamin and mineral compounds for use as dietary supplements and vitamin and mineral compounds for use as food additives. As set forth in the attached dictionary definitions, the term “ACTIVE” is a descriptive term in relation to the identified goods which refers to a specific characteristic of vitamins and minerals, namely, that they contain active ingredients, which produce an intended action or effect. The term “LIQUID” is also merely descriptive of the goods, referring to the material composition of the MINERALS. (See attached definitions from the American Heritage Dictionary). Moreover, the combination has a readily understood descriptive meaning as shown by the attached representative Internet evidence. For example, the printout from the Oriental Detox web site shows use of ACTIVE IONIC LIQUID MINERALS and the CellQuest web site shows use of the wording ACTIVE LIQUID MINERALS to describe mineral products. Accordingly, applicant’s proposed mark merely describes the goods, and registration is properly refused under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act.
If applicant responds to the refusal, applicant must also respond to the requirement set forth below.
To permit proper examination of the application, applicant must submit additional product information about applicant’s goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.61(b); In re AOP LLC, 107 USPQ2d 1644, 1650-51 (TTAB 2013); In re Cheezwhse.com, Inc., 85 USPQ2d 1917, 1919 (TTAB 2008); TMEP §814. The requested product information should include fact sheets, instruction manuals, and/or advertisements. If these materials are unavailable, applicant should submit similar documentation for goods of the same type, explaining how its own product will differ. If the goods feature new technology and no competing goods are available, applicant must provide a detailed description of the goods.
In addition, the applicant must specify whether its goods feature active mineral ingredients, and also, whether the minerals are of liquid consistency.
Factual information about the goods must clearly indicate how they operate, their salient features, and their prospective customers and channels of trade. Conclusory statements regarding the goods will not satisfy this requirement.
Failure to comply with a request for information is grounds for refusing registration. In re AOP LLC, 107 USPQ2d at 1651 (citing In re Cheezwhse.com, Inc., 85 USPQ2d at 1919; In re DTI P’ship LLP, 67 USPQ2d 1699, 1701-02 (TTAB 2003); TMEP §814). Merely stating that information about the goods is available on applicant’s website is an insufficient response and will not make the relevant information of record. See In re Planalytics, Inc., 70 USPQ2d 1453, 1457-58 (TTAB 2004).
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.
/Patty Evanko/
Patty Evanko
Examining Attorney
Law Office 119
571-272-9404
patty.evanko@uspto.gov (informal questions only)
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.