To: | CRESCENT CITY BROTHERS LLC (tskeaty@keatypatentfirm.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88241608 - CRESCENT CITY BROS. - C18-4108 |
Sent: | 3/26/2019 12:03:13 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM117@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88241608
MARK: CRESCENT CITY BROS.
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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: CRESCENT CITY BROTHERS LLC
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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: 3/26/2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
· SECTION 2(e)(2) REFUSAL – PRIMARILY GEOGRAPHICALLY DESCRIPTIVE
SEARCH RESULTS
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).
SECTION 2(e)(2) REFUSAL – PRIMARILY GEOGRAPHICALLY DESCRIPTIVE
A mark is primarily geographically descriptive when the following is demonstrated:
(1) The primary significance of the mark is a generally known geographic place or location;
(2) The goods and/or services for which applicant seeks registration originate in the geographic place identified in the mark; and
(3) Purchasers would be likely to make a goods-place or services-place association; that is, purchasers would be likely to believe that the goods and/or services originate in the geographic place identified in the mark.
TMEP §1210.01(a); see In re Societe Generale des Eaux Minerales de Vittel S.A., 824 F.2d 957, 959, 3 USPQ2d 1450, 1452 (Fed. Cir. 1987); In re Hollywood Lawyers Online, 110 USPQ2d 1852, 1853 (TTAB 2014).
Furthermore, commonly used nicknames for geographic locations are generally treated as equivalent to the proper geographic name of the place identified. TMEP §1210.02(a); see, e.g., In re Carolina Apparel, 48 USPQ2d 1542, 1543 (TTAB 1998) (holding CAROLINA APPAREL primarily geographically descriptive of retail clothing store services where evidence showed that “Carolina” is used to indicate either the state of North Carolina or South Carolina); In re Charles S. Loeb Pipes, Inc., 190 USPQ 238, 245 (TTAB 1976) (holding OLD DOMINION is “the accepted nickname for the State of Virginia”).
In this case, the attached evidence demonstrates that “CRESCENT CITY” is a commonly used nickname for the U.S. city of New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana. See attached evidence from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/neworleansrambler.cfm, http://www.nola.com/living/2017/10/new_orleans_nicknames_the_good.html and http://www.crescentcitycooks.com/).
The goods originate near the geographic place named in the mark, as shown by applicant’s address. See http://www.google.com/maps/dir/3803+Dulaney+Dr,+Harvey,+LA+70058/New+Orleans,+LA/@29.8996309,-90.0956707,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x8620a1636939477b:0xbe848be536f7d971!2m2!1d-90.0711492!2d29.8482053!1m5!1m1!1s0x8620a454b2118265:0xdb065be85e22d3b4!2m2!1d-90.0715323!2d29.9510658!3e0. A product that is produced or a service that is provided near the geographic place named in the applied-for mark is sufficient to support a finding that the goods and/or services originate in that geographic location. See, e.g., In re Spirits of New Merced, LLC, 85 USPQ2d 1614, 1621 (TTAB 2007) (holding YOSEMITE BEER primarily geographically descriptive of beer produced and sold in Merced, California, a city located 80 miles from Yosemite National Park, where the goods originated in an area “located near YOSEMITE”); In re Joint-Stock Co. "Baik," 80 USPQ2d 1305, 1310-11 (TTAB 2006) (holding BAIKALSKAYA, the Russian equivalent of “from Baikal” or “Baikal’s,” primarily geographically descriptive of vodka where applicant was located near Lake Baikal, and applicant did not dispute that it produced vodka from a location near and used water from Lake Baikal); see also Warwood v. Hubbard, 228 USPQ 702, 702-03 (Mont. 1985) (holding YELLOWSTONE OUTFITTERS primarily geographically descriptive of outfitting services offered "near Yellowstone Park").
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has stated that the purpose of Trademark Act Section 2(e)(2) is “to leave geographic names free for all businesses operating in the same area to inform customers where their goods or services originate.” In re Spirits of New Merced, 85 USPQ2d at 1621 (citing In re MCO Props. Inc., 38 USPQ2d 1154, 1156 (TTAB 1995)).
The additional term “BROS.” in the mark does not diminish the geographic significance of the mark because the addition of generic or highly descriptive wording to a geographic word or term does not diminish that geographic word or term’s primary geographic significance. TMEP §1210.02(c)(ii); see, e.g., In re Hollywood Lawyers Online, 110 USPQ2d 1852, 1853-54 (TTAB 2014) (holding HOLLYWOOD LAWYERS ONLINE primarily geographically descriptive of attorney referrals, online business information, and an online business directory); In re Cheezwhse.com, Inc., 85 USPQ2d 1917, 1920 (TTAB 2008) (holding NORMANDIE CAMEMBERT primarily geographically descriptive of cheese).
As in this case, business type designations and abbreviations such as “Corporation,” “Inc.,” “Company,” “LLC,” and “Ltd.” or family business designations such as “& Sons” or “Bros.” must merely indicate applicant’s business type or structure and generally have no source-indicating capacity. TMEP §1213.03(d); see, e.g., Goodyear’s India Rubber Glove Mfg. Co. v. Goodyear Rubber Co., 128 U.S. 598, 602-03 (1888); In re Piano Factory Grp., Inc., 85 USPQ2d at 1526; In re Patent & Trademark Servs., Inc., 49 USPQ2d at 1539-40.
Accordingly, with the primary significance of the mark being the geographic location “CRESCENT CITY”, registration is refused under Trademark Act Section 2(e)(2).
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(s) 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.
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.
/Karen Sulita Dindayal/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 117
571-272-8208
karen.dindayal@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.