UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

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.  A RESPONSE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE TRADEMARK ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SYSTEM (TEAS) MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE MIDNIGHT EASTERN TIME OF THE LAST DAY OF THE RESPONSE PERIOD.

 

 

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 4/23/2019

 

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

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

This Office action is supplemental to and supersedes the previous Office action issued on January 10, 2019 in connection with this application.  Based on information and/or documentation in applicant’s response, the trademark examining attorney now issues the following new requirement:  amended identification of goods and services requirement.  See TMEP §§706, 711.02. 

 

In a previous Office action dated January 10, 2019, the applicant was required to satisfy the following requirement:  amended identification of goods and services required.

 

 

The following is a SUMMARY OF ISSUES that applicant must address:

• Amended Identification of Goods and Services Requirement – Classes 007, 035, 037, and 045 Only

 

 

Applicant must respond to all issues raised in this Office action within six (6) months of the date of issuance of this Office action.  37 C.F.R. §2.62(a); see TMEP §711.02.  If applicant does not respond within this time limit, the application will be abandoned.  37 C.F.R. §2.65(a).

 

 

AMENDED IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES REQUIRED – CLASSES 007, 035, 037, AND 045 ONLY

 

The following wording in the identification of goods and services is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the goods and services is unclear:

 

            “rice-grain sorting machines for industry” in Class 007,

 

            “Provision of an on-linemarketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services” in Class 035,

 

            “Office machines and equipmentinstallation, maintenance and repair” in Class 037, and

 

            “Licensing of intellectual propertylegal services” in Class 045.

 

See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. 

 

Applicant is also advised to delete or modify the duplicate entry in the identification of goods in International Class 007 for “Sifting machines.”  See generally TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.01(a).  If applicant does not respond to this issue, be advised that the USPTO will remove duplicate entries from the identification prior to registration.

 

Applicant may substitute the following wording with amended language shown in bold, if accurate:

 

 

International Class 007:

 

            “Sifting machines; Rice-grain sorting machines for industrial purposes; Sorting machines for chemical processing; Vending machines; Elevating or lifting work platforms; Automatic industrial labeling machines for applying labels to containers and bottles; Industrial robots; cargo handling machines, automatic; Hoists; Auxiliary power units for supplying electrical power; Packaging machines; Lifting installations for the transport of persons and goods; Staged and segmented conveyors; Starters for motors and engines”

 

 

International Class 035:

 

            “Business management assistance; Organization of trade fairs for commercial or advertising purposes; Commercial administration of the licensing of the goods and services of others; Outsourcing services in the nature of business assistance; Providing business information via a website; Import-export agency services; Marketing services; Provision of an on-line marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services; Sales promotion for others; Personnel management; Relocation services for businesses; Systemization of information into computer databases; Accounting services; Rental of vending machines; Sponsorship search; Rental of sales stands; Rental of office machinery and equipment; Personnel placement and recruitment; On-line advertising on a computer network”

 

 

International Class 037:

 

            “Providing home repair information; Fire alarm installation and repair; Burglar alarm installation and repair; Photographic apparatus repair; Film projector repair and maintenance; Electric appliance installation and repair;  Office machines and equipment installation, maintenance and repair; Machinery installation, maintenance and repair; Installation, maintenance and repair of computer hardware; Rebuilding machines that have been worn or partially destroyed; Installation and repair of air-conditioning apparatus; Repair or maintenance of fire alarms; Building maintenance and repair; Repair and maintenance of electric vehicles; Rustproofing; Advisory services relating to the installation of audiovisual equipment; Installation, repair and maintenance of computers and computer peripherals; Installation and repair of computer hardware”

 

 

International Class 045:

 

            “Monitoring of burglar and security alarms; Physical security consultancy; Guard services; Monitoring of security alarm systems; Security guarding for facilities; On-line social networking services; Rental of fire alarms; Licensing of computer software; Opening of security locks; Fire-fighting; Night guard services; Licensing of intellectual property being legal services”

 

 

Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but not to broaden or expand the goods and/or services beyond those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Generally, any deleted goods and/or services may not later be reinserted.  See 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.

 

 

ASSISTANCE

 

If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please email the assigned trademark examining attorney.  Although the trademark examining attorney cannot provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights, the trademark examining attorney can provide applicant with additional explanation about the requirements in this Office action.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.  Although the USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions, emails can be used for informal communications and will be included in the application record.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05. 

 

 

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.  

 

 

 

J. Ian Dible

/J. Ian Dible/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 111

(571) 272-0209

ian.dible@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.

 

 

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YOUR

U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

USPTO OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) HAS ISSUED

ON 4/23/2019 FOR U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88122670

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed.  The trademark examining attorney assigned by the USPTO to your application has written an official letter to which you must respond.  Please follow these steps:

 

(1)  Read the LETTER by clicking on this link or going to http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/, entering your U.S. application serial number, and clicking on “Documents.”

 

The Office action may not be immediately viewable, to allow for necessary system updates of the application, but will be available within 24 hours of this e-mail notification. 

 

(2)  Respond within 6 months (or sooner if specified in the Office action), calculated from 4/23/2019, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) response form located at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp.  A response transmitted through TEAS must be received before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.

 

Do NOT hit “Reply” to this e-mail notification, or otherwise e-mail your response because the USPTO does NOT accept e-mails as responses to Office actions. 

 

(3)  Questions about the contents of the Office action itself should be directed to the trademark examining attorney who reviewed your application, identified below. 

 

J. Ian Dible

/J. Ian Dible/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 111

(571) 272-0209

ian.dible@uspto.gov

 

WARNING

 

Failure to file the required response by the applicable response deadline will result in the ABANDONMENT of your application.  For more information regarding abandonment, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/basics/abandon.jsp. 

 

PRIVATE COMPANY SOLICITATIONS REGARDING YOUR APPLICATION:  Private companies not associated with the USPTO are using information provided in trademark applications to mail or e-mail trademark-related solicitations.  These companies often use names that closely resemble the USPTO and their solicitations may look like an official government document.  Many solicitations require that you pay “fees.” 

 

Please carefully review all correspondence you receive regarding this application to make sure that you are responding to an official document from the USPTO rather than a private company solicitation.  All official USPTO correspondence will be mailed only from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, VA; or sent by e-mail from the domain “@uspto.gov.”  For more information on how to handle private company solicitations, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/solicitation_warnings.jsp.