To: | HinesLab, Incorporated (uspto.docketing@cotmanip.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88279836 - KIDSAFE - 1787-T001US1 |
Sent: | 4/15/2019 12:58:19 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM117@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 Attachment - 21 Attachment - 22 Attachment - 23 Attachment - 24 Attachment - 25 Attachment - 26 Attachment - 27 Attachment - 28 Attachment - 29 Attachment - 30 Attachment - 31 Attachment - 32 Attachment - 33 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88279836
MARK: KIDSAFE
|
|
CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
|
APPLICANT: HinesLab, Incorporated
|
|
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: 4/15/2019
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.
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).
However, applicant should note the following ground for refusal.
SECTION 2(e)(1) REFUSAL - MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a function or purpose of applicant’s goods. Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); see TMEP §§1209.01(b), 1209.03 et seq.
The word “kid” refers to “a child” or “a young person.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed. 2019), http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=kid. The word “safe” means “affording protection.” Id. at http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=safe. Thus, the wording “kid safe” would refer to something affording protection to a child or young person. Indeed, third parties commonly use “kid safe” to refer to something affording protection to a child or young person. See, e.g.:
Descriptiveness is considered in relation to the relevant goods. DuoProSS Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 1254, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1757 (Fed. Cir. 2012). In this case, applicant offers a “baseboard to prevent furniture from tipping over.” When the wording “KID SAFE” is considered in relation to these goods, it immediately and directly conveys to consumers that that the function or purpose of the baseboards is to afford protection to a child or young person by preventing the furniture from tipping over. No thought or imagination would be necessary on the part of consumers to understand this descriptive meaning of “KID SAFE” when it is considered in relation to applicant’s goods.
The fact that applicant presents the applied-for mark as one word instead of two does not affect the finding that the applied-for mark is merely descriptive because the absence of the space is not significant. See, e.g., In re Planalytics, Inc., 70 USPQ2d 1453, 1455 (TTAB 2004) (discussing difference between “GAS BUYER” and “GASBUYER”) (“[W]e cannot see how the absence of the space creates a different meaning or perception of the term. Whether the term appears as GAS BUYER or GASBUYER, it would be understood by the relevant consumers to have the same meaning ….”); see also In re SPX Corp., 63 USPQ2d 1592, 1596 (TTAB 2002) (“[T]elescoping two words which are merely descriptive of the goods into a single term by the deletion of a space does not avoid a finding of mere descriptiveness for the combined term.”).
Because applicant’s applied-for mark merely describes a function or purpose of applicant’s goods, the application for registration must be refused under Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1).
RESPONSE REQUIRED
For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address the Section 2(e)(1) refusal in this Office action by providing written arguments and evidence against the refusal. Please see “Responding to Office Actions” and the informational video “Response to Office Action” for more information and tips on responding.
/Andrew Leaser/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 117
(571) 272-1911
andrew.leaser@uspto.gov
TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: Informal communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions and will not be considered; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by telephone or e-mail. Instead, go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp to file a formal response using the “Response to Examining Attorney Office Action” form. 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. All informal 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.