To: | Swift Brands Company (kcollins@cp2law.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88291422 - SWIFT RECIPE-READY CUTS - 10151101SwRR |
Sent: | 4/25/2019 2:08:05 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 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88291422
MARK: SWIFT RECIPE-READY CUTS
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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: Swift Brands Company
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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: 4/25/2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney.
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 issues with this application:
(1) The identification of goods requires amendment; and
(2) A disclaimer of “CUTS” is required.
Applicant must respond timely and completely to these two issues. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS AMENDMENT REQUIRED
The identification of goods contains duplicate entries of “fresh” and “frozen” in connection with “meat, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb and pork.” Applicant is advised to delete the duplicate wording. See generally TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.01(a). If applicant does not respond to this issue, be advised that the USPTO will remove duplicate entries from the identification prior to registration.
The following amended identification is suggested:
Fresh, frozen, processed, shelf stable, or cooked meat, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb and pork; Prepared, partially cooked, fresh or frozen food kits composed of meat, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb and/or vegetables and also including sauces or seasonings, ready for cooking and assembly as a meal; cooked and partially cooked meat dishes
Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods, but not to broaden or expand the goods beyond those in the original application. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Generally, any deleted goods may not later be reinserted. See TMEP §1402.07(e).
The word “cut” refers to “a part that has been cut from a main body: a cut of beef.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed. 2019), http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=cut. Applicant offers meat products from various animals, and when the word “CUTS” in the applied-for mark is considered in relation to these goods, it immediately and directly conveys to consumers that applicant offers parts that have been cut from the main bodies of various animals. As such, the word “CUTS” is an unregistrable component of the mark because it is, at best, merely descriptive of a feature 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). This conclusion is supported by the attached representative sample of third-party registrations for marks used in connection with the same or similar goods, wherein the word “CUTS” has been 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 “CUTS” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493, 494 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
Applicant may not claim exclusive rights to terms that others may need to use to describe their goods in the marketplace. See Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l, Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 1560, 21 USPQ2d 1047, 1051 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Aug. Storck KG, 218 USPQ 823, 825 (TTAB 1983). Therefore, failure to comply with a disclaimer requirement will result in a refusal to register the entire mark. See In re Stereotaxis Inc., 429 F.3d 1039, 1040-41, 77 USPQ2d 1087, 1088-89 (Fed. Cir. 2005); TMEP §1213.01(b).
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
RESPONSE REQUIRED
For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each requirement in this Office action by setting forth the changes or statements. 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.