Examiners Amendment

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application

 

 

 

EXAMINER’S AMENDMENT

 

 

Issue date:  January 17, 2020

 

The Office has reassigned this application to the undersigned trademark examining attorney.

 

Applied-for mark will not be refused registration based on scandalous/immoral provision of Trademark Act Section 2(a), 15 U.S.C. §1052(a). 

 

On May 9, 2018, the subject application was suspended pending decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Iancu v. Brunetti, ___ U.S. ___, 2019 USPQ2d 232043 (2019).  The issue on appeal was whether the scandalous/immoral provision of the trademark statute violates the First Amendment of the Constitution because it impermissibly restricts free speech, as held by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  In re Brunetti, 877 F.3d 1330, 125 USPQ2d 1072 (Fed. Cir. 2017).  Because applicant’s mark would have been subject to refusal under the scandalousness provision, action on this application was suspended pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

 

On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court decided Iancu v. Brunetti, affirming the judgment of the Federal Circuit.  Iancu v. Brunetti, ___ U.S. ___, 2019 USPQ2d 232043.  Accordingly, the scandalous/immoral provision under Section 2(a) is no longer a valid ground on which to refuse registration.

 

Application has been amended as shown below.  As agreed to by Matthew Colunga on January 17, 2020, the examining attorney has amended the application as shown below.  Please notify the examining attorney immediately of any objections.  TMEP §707.  Otherwise, no response is required.  Id.  In addition, applicant is advised that amendments to the goods and/or services are permitted only if they clarify or limit them; amendments that add to or broaden the scope of the goods and/or services are not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a).

 

IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES

 

The identification of services is amended to read as follows:  “Adult entertainment services, namely, gentlemen's clubs featuring male exotic dancing.”  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.01(e).

 

 

 

 

 

 

/Blake Lovelace/

James Blake Lovelace

Examining Attorney

Law Office 119

(571) 270-1533

james.lovelace@uspto.gov

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on January 17, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 87408158

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.  No response is necessary.

 

(2)  Direct questions about the contents of the Office action to the assigned attorney below. 

 

/Blake Lovelace/

James Blake Lovelace

Examining Attorney

Law Office 119

(571) 270-1533

james.lovelace@uspto.gov

 

Direct questions about navigating USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and/or whether there are outstanding deadlines or documents related to your file to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

 

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

·         Check the status of your application periodically in the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database to avoid missing critical deadlines.

 

·         Update your correspondence email address, if needed, to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·         Beware of misleading notices sent by private companies about your application.  Private companies not associated with the USPTO use public information available in trademark registrations to mail and email trademark-related offers and notices – most of which require fees.  All official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”