To: | Patient Focused Tele-Health LLC (ip@phillipsmurrah.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88221465 - APT ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY - 27655.29003 |
Sent: | 3/13/2019 4:32:19 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM123@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 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88221465
MARK: APT ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY
|
|
CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
|
APPLICANT: Patient Focused Tele-Health LLC
|
|
CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
|
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: 3/13/2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue(s) below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
SEARCH OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF 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).
AMENDMENT/CLARIFICATION OF MARK DESCRIPTION REQUIRED
The following description is suggested, if accurate:
The mark consists of the capital letters "APT" with a stylized, tilted, and incomplete circle partially encircling these letters, while also intersecting the letter "A". A thin vertical line appears to the right of these partially encircled letters, and to the right of this vertical line is the vertically stacked wording "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY".
INCORRECT CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS – REQUIREMENT THAT GOODS BE RECLASSIFIED
DISCLAIMER REQUIRED
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY" because it is not inherently distinctive. These unregistrable terms are, at best, merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods. See 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); DuoProSS Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 1251, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1755 (Fed. Cir. 2012); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a).
Applicant seeks to register APT ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY for "Medicated skin care creams, lotions and gels for the treatment of skin" in International Class 6. The word "advanced" means "beyond the elementary or introductory," as in the usage example of "advanced chemistry." See the attached internet evidence from the Merriam-Webster website, available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advanced. A synonym for this word is "improved." Id. And the word "penetration" means "the power to penetrate," as well as "the depth to which something penetrates." See the attached internet evidence from the Merriam-Webster website, available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penetration. Thus, read together, "ADVANCED PENETRATION" describes an improved power to penetrate. In the context of skin care products, in particular, this feature or characteristic—of having an improved power to penetrate—is referred to (i.e., described) using the phrase "ADVANCED PENETRATION." See the attached internet evidence from the Permanent Makeup Shop and Michael Todd Beauty websites, demonstrating such usage, and available at http://permanentmakeupshop.com/products/push-advanced-penetration-gel?variant=7573174255679 and http://michaeltoddbeauty.com/products/ageless-face-and-neck-cream.
In turn, the word "TECHNOLOGY" means "the practical application of knowledge[,] especially in a particular area," as in the usage example "medical technology," as well as something "that is created by technology." See the attached internet evidence from the Merriam-Webster website, available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology. Furthermore, in the context of skin care products specifically, the practical application of the knowledge to achieve "ADVANCED PENETRATION" is referred to as "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY." See the attached internet evidence from the website of Dr. Michelle Copeland, demonstrating such usage of this phrase, and available at http://www.drcopeland.com/procedures/non-surgical-options/microinfusion/.
Thus, as the above-referenced (and attached) evidence demonstrates, the phrase "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY" is merely descriptive in the context of applicant's skin care products. This phrase describes the feature, characteristic, and/or quality of applicant's goods being products that are created by the skin care technology for achieving improved penetration. Accordingly, the phrase "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY" must be disclaimed.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use "ADVANCED PENETRATION TECHNOLOGY" apart from the mark as shown.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
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.
/Victor Cerda/
Examining Attorney
Trademark Law Office 123
(571) 270-1280
victor.cerda@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.