To: | Hudson Square District Management Associ ETC. (trademarks@powleygibson.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88310643 - HUDSON SQUARE - 481.6(US41) |
Sent: | 5/2/2019 4:34:20 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM109@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88310643
MARK: HUDSON SQUARE
|
|
CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
|
APPLICANT: Hudson Square District Management Associ ETC.
|
|
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: 5/2/2019
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.
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue(s) below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
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).
2(e)(2) Refusal - Primarily Geographically Descriptive
A mark is primarily geographically descriptive when the following is demonstrated:
(1) The primary significance of the mark is a generally known geographic place or location;
(2) The services for which applicant seeks registration originate in the geographic place identified in the mark; and
(3) Purchasers would be likely to make a services-place association; that is, purchasers would be likely to believe that the services originate in the geographic place identified in the mark.
TMEP §1210.01(a); see In re Societe Generale des Eaux Minerales de Vittel S.A., 824 F.2d 957, 959, 3 USPQ2d 1450, 1452 (Fed. Cir. 1987); In re Hollywood Lawyers Online, 110 USPQ2d 1852, 1853 (TTAB 2014).
Applicant’s mark is HUDSON SQUARE for “Arranging, organizing, conducting, and hosting social entertainment events.”
The attached evidence from Wikipedia and applicant’s website shows that the primary significance of the term “HUDSON SQUARE” in the mark is the name of a geographic location. Specifically, HUDSON SQUARE is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, approximately bounded by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east and the Hudson River to the west (see attached). Purchasers are likely to believe the services originate in that geographic location because applicant is located there as shown by their address (see attached). Thus there is a presumed services-place association in this case.
Accordingly, registration on the Principal Register must be refused under Trademark Act Section 2(e)(2).
Amendment to Supplemental Register Suggested
ADVISORY - Prior Registrations Showing Geographically Descriptive Terms Disclaimed Insufficient Alone to Establish Distinctiveness
Without additional evidence, ownership of one or more prior registrations in which the relevant wording is disclaimed is insufficient in this case to establish a claim of acquired distinctiveness under Trademark Act Section 2(f). See 15 U.S.C. §1052(f); Kellogg Co. v. Gen. Mills, Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1766, 1771 n.5 (TTAB 2007); In re Candy Bouquet Int’l Inc., 73 USPQ2d 1883, 1890 (TTAB 2004); In re Helena Rubinstein, Inc., 131 USPQ 152, 153 (TTAB 1961); TMEP §1212.04(a). Specifically, the prior registration(s) shows the wording “HUDSON SQUARE” disclaimed.
/Christina Sobral/
Christina Sobral
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 109
Christina.Sobral@uspto.gov
571.272.5703
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.