To: | ManpowerGroup Inc. (mail@iphorgan.net) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 87158881 - LEARNABILITY QUOTIENT - MAN 5824 US |
Sent: | 12/14/2016 4:56:02 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM109@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 87158881
MARK: LEARNABILITY QUOTIENT
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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: ManpowerGroup Inc.
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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: 12/14/2016
The assigned trademark examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and has determined the following:
NO SIMILAR 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).
Applicant, however, should note the following refusal.
SECTION 2(e)(1) REFUSAL – MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
The term LEARNABILITY means “the quality of being learnable.” Please see the attached definition from the Collins English Dictionary Online. The term QUOTIENT means “A degree or amount of a specified quality or characteristic.” Please see the attached definition from the Oxford English Dictionary Online.
When combined, these terms do not create a separate and distinct meaning. Rather, the terms merely describe the degree or amount that one is able to learn. As such, the wording merely describes business management, employment, education, training, and computer services concerning learnability quotient.
Only where the combination of descriptive terms creates a unitary mark with a unique, incongruous, or otherwise nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services is the combined mark registrable. See In re Colonial Stores, Inc., 394 F.2d 549, 551, 157 USPQ 382, 384 (C.C.P.A. 1968); In re Positec Grp. Ltd., 108 USPQ2d 1161, 1162-63 (TTAB 2013).
Accordingly, because the applicant’s mark is merely descriptive under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act, registration is refused.
If applicant files an acceptable allegation of use and also amends to the Supplemental Register, the effective filing date of the application will be the date on which applicant met the minimum filing requirements of 37 C.F.R. §2.76(c) for the amendment to allege use. 37 C.F.R. §2.75(b); TMEP §§816.02, 1102.03. In addition, the undersigned trademark examining attorney will conduct a new search of the USPTO records for conflicting marks based on the later application filing date. TMEP §§206.01, 1102.03.
Although the trademark examining attorney has refused registration, applicant may respond to the refusal to register by submitting evidence and arguments in support of registration. If applicant chooses to respond to the refusal to register, then applicant must also respond to the following requirements.
Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate. Please note the proper classification for the services.
“Business management; business administration; providing office functions; Employment agency services; temporary and permanent employment agency services; employment related services, namely, providing job placement, career planning, employment recruitment, and general employment information to others; personnel management services; human resources management services; providing and managing contract personnel programs, namely, temporary personnel services; personnel management and consultancy services; providing employee skills screening and assessment tools via a website on a global information network, namely, testing to determine employment skills and work analysis to determine worker skill sets and other worker requirements; Employment counseling services; career management consultation services, namely, career planning consultation; employment outplacement services; Professional business consultancy services; accounting and internal business audit services for others, business investigation services; business advice and information services; business organization consultancy services; tax preparation and consulting services” in International Class 035.
“Educational and training services, namely, conducting classes, seminars and workshops in the field of business and job skills and office technology; Providing training in business and job skills and office technology; Providing training in the field of job searching, career development, self marketing, interview skills and research workshops; training services for personnel in the field of job searching, career development, self marketing, interview skills and research workshops; providing on-line courses of study in the fields of information technology, software use, job and business skills; career counseling services, namely, providing advice concerning education options to pursue career opportunities; education and training being career management and career transition services, namely, conducting classes, seminars and workshops in the field of business and job skills and office technology” in International Class 041.
“Consultancy, design and development services in the field of computer networks, computer hardware and computer software; providing online non-downloadable computer software for accessing, inputting, storing, processing and retrieving employment and career related information; providing online non-downloadable software for evaluating job and career skills” in International Class 042.
“Business information technology security services, namely, computer security services, namely, monitoring of computer information technology systems for security purposes; consulting services in the field of maintaining the security and integrity of databases” in Class 045.
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.
MULTIPLE CLASS REQUIREMENTS
(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 FOUR classes; however, applicant submitted fees sufficient for only THREE 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.
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 for responding to a refusal and should consider such 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.
Where the application has been abandoned for failure to respond to an Office action, applicant’s only option would be to file a timely 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. There is a $100 fee for such petitions. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.66(b)(1).
/Robert J. Struck/
Robert J. Struck
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 109
Robert.Struck@uspto.gov
571-272-1513
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.