To: | CONSTELLATION BRANDS U.S. OPERATIONS INC ETC. (officeactions@br-tmlaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88127627 - THE INTERNET OF WINE - N/A |
Sent: | 11/5/2018 4:15:41 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM120@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 Attachment - 14 Attachment - 15 Attachment - 16 Attachment - 17 Attachment - 18 Attachment - 19 Attachment - 20 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88127627
MARK: THE INTERNET OF WINE
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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: CONSTELLATION BRANDS U.S. OPERATIONS INC ETC.
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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. 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: 11/5/2018
INTRODUCTION
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issues below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
SEARCH
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).
SUMMARY
SECTION 2(e)(1) REFUSAL – MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
“Whether consumers could guess what the product [or service] is from consideration of the mark alone is not the test.” In re Am. Greetings Corp., 226 USPQ 365, 366 (TTAB 1985).
The applied-for mark is “THE INTERNET OF WINE” used to identify: Continuing education services, namely, providing live and on-line continuing professional education seminars in the field of marketing of wine, spirits and beer; Education services, namely, providing on-line information and instruction in the field of manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries; Educational services, namely, conducting informal on-line programs in the fields of wine, spirits and beer industries, and printable materials distributed therewith; Educational services, namely, conducting informal programs in the fields of wine, spirits and beer industries, using on-line activities and interactive exhibits, and printable materials distributed therewith; Leadership development training in the field of business in the fields of wine, spirits and beer; Providing continuing business education courses; Providing education in the field of using artificial intelligence, block chain technology, virtual reality, augmented reality in the manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries rendered through video conference; Providing information on-line relating to educational opportunities; Providing a web site that features informal instruction on manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries; Providing information and news in the field of current events relating to manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries.
The attached evidence from FineDiningLovers.com shows the wording comprising the applied-for mark means “a technological system based on sensors monitoring the lifespan, growth and requirements of each individual plant or grape.” Additionally, the attached evidence from PTC.com, DigitaListMag.com, and ZDNet.com shows the wording comprising the applied-for mark is commonly used in the marketplace to describe technological systems used to monitor plant growth in the wine industry. Based on this evidence, the applied-for mark is merely descriptive of a feature of applicant’s goods, namely, providing continuing professional education seminars, on-line information and instruction, on-line programs, leadership development training, business education courses, education through video conference, information, informal instruction, and news all featuring information about technological systems used to monitor plant growth in the wine industry. Thus, registration must be refused under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act.
If applicant files an acceptable allegation of use and also amends to the Supplemental Register, the application effective filing date will be the date applicant met the minimum filing requirements under 37 C.F.R. §2.76(c) for an amendment to allege use. TMEP §§816.02, 1102.03; see 37 C.F.R. §2.75(b). 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.
IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES AMENDMENT REQUIRED
Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate (bolded text being indicative of suggested added wording and strikethrough text being indicative of suggested deletions):
In Class 35, Education services, namely, providing on-line educational information in the field of distribution in the nature of information about distributorships, information about sales methods, and information about consumer marketing all in the fields of wine, spirits and beer industries
In Class 39, Education services, namely, providing on-line educational information in the field of distribution services, namely, delivery of wine, spirits and beer
In Class 40, Education services, namely, providing on-line educational information in the field of manufacture and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries, namely, providing educational information about wine-making, distilling of spirits for others, and beer making and brewing services
In Class 41, Continuing education services, namely, providing live and on-line continuing professional education seminars in the field of marketing of wine, spirits and
beer; Education services, namely, providing on-line information and instruction in the field of manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the
wine, spirits and beer industries; Educational services, namely, conducting informal on-line programs in the fields of wine, spirits and beer industries, and printable materials distributed
therewith; Educational services, namely, conducting informal programs in the fields of wine, spirits and beer industries, using on-line activities and interactive exhibits, and printable materials
distributed therewith; Leadership development training in the field of business in the fields of wine, spirits and beer; Providing continuing business education courses; Providing education in the
field of using artificial intelligence, block chain technology, virtual reality, augmented reality in the manufacture, distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and
beer industries rendered through video conference; Providing information on-line relating to educational opportunities; Providing a web site that features informal instruction on manufacture,
distribution, sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries; Providing information and news in the field of current events relating to manufacture, distribution,
sales, consumer marketing and engagement in the wine, spirits and beer industries
Applicant must note the following advisory and respond to it, if appropriate.
MULTIPLE-CLASS APPLICATION ADVISORY
Therefore, applicant must either (1) restrict the application to the number of classes covered by the fees already paid, or (2) submit the fees for each additional class.
(1) List the 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 fees already paid (view the USPTO’s current fee schedule).
The fee for adding classes to a TEAS Plus application through TEAS is $225 per class. See 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iv); TMEP §§819.03, 819.04. See more information regarding the requirements for maintaining the lower TEAS Plus fee and, if these requirements are not satisfied, for adding classes at a higher fee using regular TEAS.
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).
See 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.
CONCLUSION
Please call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney with questions about this Office action. 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 refusal and/or requirement(s) 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.
/Josh Toy/
JOSHUA S. TOY
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 120
Phone: 571-272-4856
joshua.toy@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.