Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application

 

 

 

FINAL OFFICE ACTION

 

The USPTO must receive applicant’s response to this letter within six months of the issue date below or the application will be abandoned.  Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

Issue date:  October 08, 2019

 

Applicant is encouraged to email the trademark examining attorney at eli.hellman@uspto.gov to resolve the issues raised below.  If the suggestions listed below are acceptable, then the examiner will issue an examiner’s amendment and approve the application for publication.

 

This FINAL Office action is in response to the applicant’s correspondence dated August 14, 2019.  Particular wording in the applicant’s identification of goods and services is indefinite.  Therefore, the requirement that the applicant clarify the wording in the identification of goods and services is maintained and made final.

 

1. Clarification of the Identification of Goods and Services

 

The wording “proxes” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because it is unclear what the goods are.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant must amend the identification to specify the common commercial name of the goods.  If there is no common commercial name, applicant must describe the product and its intended uses. 

 

The wording “name tags” must be clarified that they are stickers, as metal name tags would be classified in class 006.

 

Applicant is required to amend the wording “letterhead” to “letterhead paper.”

 

Applicant is required to amend the wording “portfolios” to “document portfolios,” as “briefcase type portfolios” are classified in class 018.

 

Applicant must specify that its “journals” are “blank writing journals.”

 

Applicant must specify the nature of its pins, e.g., “drawing pins, push pins,” as jewelry pins are classified in class 014.

 

Applicant must specify that its “certificates” are “printed certificates.”

 

Applicant must specify that its table cover bags are specially adapted for holding said goods, and reclassify the bags with the table covers.

 

Applicant has classified “computer bags; table bags” in International Class 018; however, the proper classification is International Class 009.  Therefore, applicant may respond by (1) adding International Class 009 to the application and reclassifying these goods in the proper international class, (2) deleting “computer bags” from the application, or (3) deleting the remainder of the items in the identification and reclassifying the specified goods in the proper international class.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.86(a), 6.1; TMEP §§1403.02 et seq.  If applicant adds one or more international classes to the application, applicant must comply with the multiple-class requirements specified in this Office action.

 

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:

 

International Class 003:       Lip balm

 

International Class 009:       Computer bags; computer tablet bags

 

International Class 014:       Jewelry and ornamental lapel pins

 

International Class 016:       Print materials, namely, books, magazines, brochures, pamphlets, guides, booklets, handbooks, manuals, manuscripts, newsletters, and curriculum in the fields of religion, spiritual and cultural issues and values, personal, spiritual, character and leadership development, prayer, and building spiritual movements and ministry; stickers, adhesive backed paper in the nature of name tags, note cards, folders, post cards, business cards, greeting cards, holiday cards, letterhead paper, printed advertising material in the nature of promotional cards, envelopes, stationary, book marks, flash cards, document portfolios, blank writing journals, drawing pins, push pins, printed certificates, notepads, calendars, posters, paper banners, padfolios, pens, colored pencils, and writing instruments

 

International Class 018:       Backpacks; bags, namely, gift bags, tote bags

 

International Class 020:       Fitted table covers, and bags specially adapted for holding the aforementioned goods

 

International Class 021:       Cups, mugs, water bottles sold empty

 

International Class 024:       Unfitted plastic and textile table covers, and bags specially adapted for holding the aforementioned goods; banners made of textile, namely, cloth and plastic

 

International Class 025:       Clothing, namely, shirts, hats, jackets

 

International Class 035:       Providing advertising, marketing and promotional services, namely, online banners; banner advertisings

 

International Class 041:       Publishing of books and electronic publications; establishing and operating recreational camps, religious instruction services, and providing educational in-person and online classes, workshops, and seminars in the field of Christian values and beliefs, particularly among students attending universities, colleges and other institutions of higher or specialized learning, particularly by organization and guidance of inter-denominational groups of such students

 

International Class 045:       Providing a website featuring information about Christianity and organizing and conducting religious and spiritual services, gatherings and retreats to develop and enhance the spiritual lives of individuals and promote Christian values and beliefs, particularly among students attending universities, colleges and other institutions of higher or specialized learning, particularly by organization and guidance of inter-denominational groups of such students 

 

An applicant may only amend an identification to clarify or limit the goods and services, but not to add to or broaden the scope of the goods and services.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07.

 

Proper Response to Final Office Action

 

Applicant must respond within six months of the date of issuance of this final Office action or the application will be abandoned.  15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a).  Applicant may respond by providing one or both of the following:

 

(1)       A response that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements and/or resolves all outstanding refusals.

 

(2)       An appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with the appeal fee of $100 per class.

 

37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(18); TBMP ch. 1200.

 

In certain rare circumstances, an applicant may respond by filing a petition to the Director pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review procedural issues.  37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(b); TBMP §1201.05; TMEP §1704 (explaining petitionable matters).  The petition fee is $100.  37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).

 

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.  

 

How to respond.  Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action  

 

 

/Eli J. Hellman/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

United States Patent and Trademark Office

571.272.8276

eli.hellman@uspto.gov

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon.  A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon.  If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant.  If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

 

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on October 08, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88256905

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter that you must respond to by the specified deadline or your application will be abandoned.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.

 

(2)  Direct questions about the contents of the Office action to the assigned attorney below. 

 

 

/Eli J. Hellman/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

United States Patent and Trademark Office

571.272.8276

eli.hellman@uspto.gov

 

Direct questions about navigating USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and/or whether there are outstanding deadlines or documents related to your file to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

(3)  Respond within 6 months (or earlier, if required in the Office action) from October 08, 2019, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  See the Office action for more information about how to respond.

 

 

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

·       Check the status of your application periodically in the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database to avoid missing critical deadlines.

 

·       Update your correspondence email address, if needed, to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·       Beware of misleading notices sent by private companies about your application.  Private companies not associated with the USPTO use public information available in trademark registrations to mail and email trademark-related offers and notices – most of which require fees.  All official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”