United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
FINAL OFFICE ACTION
The USPTO must receive applicant’s response to this letter within six months of the issue date below or the application will be abandoned Respond using the Trademark Electronic
Application System (TEAS) and/or Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA). A link to
the appropriate TEAS response form and/or to ESTTA for an appeal appears at the end of this Office action.
Issue date: January 13, 2020
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 in response to applicant’s communication filed on December 19, 2019.
The requirement for an acceptable identification in International Classes 9 and 36 is now
made FINAL for the reasons set forth below. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01; 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b). Applicant’s amended identification in International Class 39 is
accepted. The Section 2(d) refusal is withdrawn.
THIS PARTIAL REFUSAL APPLIES ONLY TO THE GOODS AND SERVICES SPECIFIED THEREIN
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS
The identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because it includes duplicate entries
for steering wheels. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may adopt the following identification, if
accurate: Vehicles, namely, cars, trucks, vans, motor scooters, mopeds, bicycles, electric bicycles and motorcycles; engines for land vehicles, gearboxes for land
vehicles, body in the nature of structural parts for land vehicles, vehicle chassis, vehicle steering wheels, shock absorbers for automobiles, transmission mechanisms for land vehicles, brakes for
vehicles, vehicle wheels, wheel rims, wheel covers, vehicle seats, anti-theft alarms for vehicles, back-up warning alarms for vehicles, fitted vehicle seat covers, vehicle seat headrests, rear-view
mirrors, steering wheels, windshield wipers for vehicles, torsion bars for vehicles, vehicle fuel tank filler caps, automobile bumper guards, tow trailer hitches, rack
trunk bags for bicycles and motorcycles, ski racks for vehicles, side window deflectors, doors for vehicles, automobile sunroofs, vehicle windows.
IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES
The identification of services in International Class 36 is indefinite and must be clarified because
it does not sufficiently identify the nature of applicant’s credit services and includes services in more than one international class. See 37 C.F.R.
§2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate: Banking and financial services, namely,
loan services; credit and loan leasing services for vehicles, hire purchase financing services; underwriting insurances for vehicles; underwriting
life insurances; underwriting accident insurances; underwriting accidental death insurance; insurance brokerage; consultation, information and advice in matters of insurances; credit card payment
processing services and other means of electronic payments processing through prepaid cards used for the purchase of fuels and lubricants, for the performance of maintenance and repair of vehicles;
arranging of financial loans, financial services in the domain of leasing and rental of vehicles, namely, vehicle rental financing, financial guarantee services being sureties for vehicles; arranging
of financial loans for the repair of vehicles; third-party extended warranty services for vehicles, in International Class 36; leasing services for vehicles, in International Class 39.
Applicant’s goods and/or 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 goods and/or services or add goods and/or 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 goods and/or 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 goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or 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.
RESPONSE TO OFFICE ACTION
If applicant does not timely respond within six months of the issue date of this final Office
action, the following goods and services to which the final requirements apply will be deleted from the application by Examiner’s Amendment: steering wheels,
in International Class 9; credit services for vehicles, in International Class 36. 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); see 15 U.S.C. §1062(b).
In such case, the application will proceed for the remaining goods and services only.
Applicant is encouraged to call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney below to
resolve the issues in this Office action. Although the USPTO will not accept an email as a response to an Office action, an applicant can communicate by phone or
email to agree to a proposed amendment to the application that will immediately place the application in condition for publication, registration, or suspension.
See 37 C.F.R. §2.62(c); TMEP §707.
How to respond. Click to file a request for reconsideration of this final Office action that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals and/or click to file a timely appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) with the required filing fee(s).
/Barney L. Charlon/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 104
(571) 272-9141
(571) 272-9104 (fax)
barney.charlon@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE
- Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause
the application to abandon. A response or
notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period. TEAS and ESTTA
maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s
ability to timely respond.