To: | Sterling International Inc. (efiling@cojk.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88298873 - REUSABLE FLY TRAP - STIL-2-58818 |
Sent: | 3/20/2019 4:38:21 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM104@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88298873
MARK: REUSABLE FLY TRAP
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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: Sterling International Inc.
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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: 3/20/2019
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.
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).
SECTIONS 1, 2 AND 45 REFUSAL – MERELY ORNAMENTAL
The applied-for mark, as used on the specimen, would be perceived as merely a decorative or ornamental feature of the packaging for the goods because it consists of descriptive and non-distinctive matter set against colored common geometric shapes.
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “REUSABLE FLY TRAP” because it is not inherently distinctive. These unregistrable term(s) at best are merely descriptive, or misdescriptive, of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and/or services. 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).
The attached evidence from merriam-webster.com shows this wording means, respectively, “capable of being used again or repeatedly” and “a trap for catching flies often having the form of a wire or glass cylinder with a conical cover and bottom in which is a small opening.” Thus, the wording merely describes, or misdescribes, applicant’s goods because they are in the nature of traps for catching flies and pesticides which are capable of being used again or repeatedly.
In addition, applicant must disclaim the design of the fly because it is not inherently distinctive. This unregistrable design at best is merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and/or services. 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), (c). In addition, see the enclosed excerpts from Wikipedia.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “REUSABLE FLY TRAP” and the design of the fly apart from the mark as shown.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
The following description is suggested, if accurate: The mark consists of a design applied to the goods. The majority of the mark is dark green and black. At the bottom of the mark is a light green band. Above it is a thin white stripe. Above the white stripe is a dark green band. Above the dark green band is an incomplete thin white stripe. Above the second thin white line is a black field with an arc beginning at the left end of the second white line and ending on the right side of the label about one third the way down from the top edge. In the black field are the words FLY TRAP in white. To the left of those words is a dark green box with black lines at the top and bottom that extends from the left edge of the label into the black field. In that box is the word REUSABLE in white. In the lower right corner of the label is a stylized drawing of a large black fly on a white background. A vertical black band appears on both sides of the drawing.
RESPONSE TO OFFICE ACTION
/Barney L. Charlon/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 104
(571) 272-9141
(571) 272-9104 (fax)
barney.charlon@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.