To: | Fortify Insurance Group (MMcCabe@phillipsnizer.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 87110397 - FORTIFY - 87001.00002 |
Sent: | 11/8/2016 1:18:25 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM122@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 87110397
MARK: FORTIFY
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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: Fortify Insurance Group
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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: 11/8/2016
SEARCH OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS
In response to this Office action, applicant may present arguments in support of registration by addressing the issue of the potential conflict between applicant’s mark and the mark in the referenced application. Applicant’s election not to submit arguments at this time in no way limits applicant’s right to address this issue later if a refusal under Section 2(d) issues.
REQUIREMENT – AMEND IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES
The wording “loss control services”, “underwriting services”, “risk management services”, “insurance risk management services”, “providing executive benefit and carve out plans”, “providing income protection plans”, “planning support for licensed producers”, and “provide support related to securing individual life and disability insurance and group benefits including long term disability insurance, short term disability insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and critical illness insurance” in the identification of services is indefinite and must be clarified because the wording does not specify the type and nature of the services. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.
The wording “including” in the identification of services is indefinite and must be deleted and replaced with a definite term, such as “namely,” “consisting of,” “particularly,” or “in particular.” See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03(a). The identification must be specific and all-inclusive. This wording is an open-ended term (e.g., “including,” “such as”) that is not acceptable because it fails to identify specific services. See TMEP §1402.03(a).
Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:
Class 36: Insurance brokerage featuring wholesale specialty insurance programs in the fields of life, disability, critical illness and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, executive benefits and carve out plans; insurance claims administration and processing; insurance services in the nature of loss control management for others ; insurance policy administration; insurance services in the nature of underwriting services for {indicate type of insurance, e.g., life, disability, critical illness and accidental death and dismemberment insurance}; insurance consulting services, financial risk management services, financial risk management services in the nature of insurance risk management services; Insurance services, namely, underwriting insurance in the nature of providing executive benefit and carve out plans; Insurance services, namely, underwriting insurance in the nature of providing income protection plans; Insurance consultation in the nature of planning support for licensed producers; Insurance consultation in the nature of providing support related to securing individual life and disability insurance and group benefits, namely, long term disability insurance, short term disability insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and critical illness insurance
Applicant’s services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different services or add services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended. See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b). The scope of the services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification. TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b). Any acceptable changes to the services will further limit scope, and once services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted. TMEP §1402.07(e).
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. See TMEP §1402.04.
REQUIREMENT – AMEND MARK DESCRIPTION
Therefore, applicant must provide a more complete description of the applied-for mark. The following is suggested:
The mark consists of three angled tiers next to each other with dark shadowing on the each of the tiers, the word “FORTIFY” below the tiers.
ASSISTANCE
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 or e-mail without incurring this additional fee.
/Christina Calloway/
Examing Attorney
Law Office 122
571-272-7342
christina.calloway@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.