To: | Muslim Public Affairs Council (yasmine@kalawpartners.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88245154 - MPAC - MPAC-003 |
Sent: | 3/27/2019 5:46:14 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM126@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88245154
MARK: MPAC
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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: Muslim Public Affairs Council
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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: 3/27/2019
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 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).
ENTITY INDEFINITE
If applicant is a corporation, applicant must specify the U.S. state or foreign country under which it is incorporated. TMEP §803.03(c).
If applicant is an association, applicant must specify the U.S. state or foreign country under whose laws the applicant is organized or exists, and indicate whether the association is incorporated or unincorporated. Id.
If applicant is a U.S. partnership, applicant must also list, if not yet specified, the names, legal entities, and national citizenship (for individuals), or the U.S. state or foreign country of organization or incorporation (for businesses) of all general partners. TMEP §803.03(b). For foreign partnerships, the names and citizenships of the general partners are not required. See id.
If applicant is a U.S. joint venture, applicant must also specify the names, legal entities, and national citizenship (for individuals) or the U.S. state or foreign country of organization or incorporation (for businesses) of all active members of the joint venture. Id. For foreign joint ventures, the names and citizenships of the active members are not required. See id.
If, in response to the above request, applicant provides information indicating that it is not the owner of the mark, registration will be refused because the application was void as filed. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(d); TMEP §§803.06, 1201.02(b). An application must be filed by the party who owns or is entitled to use the mark as of the application filing date. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(d); TMEP §1201.02(b).
Applicant must also respond to the requirement set forth below.
IDENTIFICATION OF SERVICES
The identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because providing advice and information services are classified according to the subject matter of the advice and information. Therefore, applicant must clarify the nature of applicant’s entertainment services. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.
Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate (additions are shown in bold, comments are in bold italics):
International Class 41: Entertainment services, namely, providing information and advice for music, video and film concept and script development relating to Islam and Muslims to entertainment industry professionals
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.
Applicant should also note the following advisory set forth below.
UNNECESSARY SECTION 2(f) CLAIM AS TO ENTIRE MARK
Applicant may withdraw this claim by instructing the trademark examining attorney to delete it from the application record. See id. If applicant does not withdraw the claim, it will remain in the application record and be printed on the registration certificate. See TMEP §1212.10.
A claim of acquired distinctiveness may be construed as a concession by applicant that the entire applied-for mark is not inherently distinctive. See Cold War Museum, Inc. v. Cold War Air Museum, Inc., 586 F.3d 1352, 1358, 92 USPQ2d 1626, 1629 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (citing Yamaha Int’l Corp. v. Hoshino Gakki Co., 840 F.2d 1572, 1577, 6 USPQ2d 1001, 1005 (Fed. Cir. 1988)); TMEP §1212.02(b).
RESPONSE GUIDELINES
Portaro, Alexandra
/Alexandra Portaro/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 126
(571) 270-3924
Alexandra.portaro@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.