Suspension Letter

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

SUSPENSION NOTICE

No Response Required

 

 

Issue date:  November 03, 2019

 

 

The application is suspended for the reason specified below.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.67; TMEP §§716 et seq. 

 

The pending applications below have an earlier filing date or effective filing date than applicant’s application.  If the mark in the applications below registers, the USPTO may refuse registration of applicant’s mark under Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark(s). 15 U.S.C. §1052(d); see 37 C.F.R. §2.83; TMEP §§1208.02(c). Action on this application is suspended until the prior-filed applications below either register or abandon.  37 C.F.R. §2.83(c).  Information relevant to the applications below is provided in this letter.

 

            - U.S. Application Serial Nos. 87387461, 87534527 and 79226817

 

Name Change/Assignment.  The application states that “The trustee has amended the Application to read: THE TRUSTEE OF THE SOLOMON CHD TRUST, A MASSACHUSETTS TRUST, COMPRISING DENNIS SOLOMON”; however, the record does not include any recorded name change documents or assignments.  Please note that an assignment and/or other documents affecting an applicant’s title may be filed online using the Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS).  To record a change in ownership and/or name, a new owner must submit the ownership transfer or name change documents along with a cover sheet and the required fees.  37 C.F.R. §§3.28, 3.41(a); see TMEP §§503.03 et seq.  The USPTO charges $40.00 for recording the first mark in a document and $25.00 for each additional mark in the same document.  37 C.F.R. §2.6(b)(6). 

 

For recording, the USPTO will accept a copy of an original document, a copy of an extract from the document evidencing the effect on title, or a statement signed by both the party conveying the interest and the party receiving the interest explaining how the conveyance affects title.  37 C.F.R. §3.25(a), (c); TMEP §503.03(b).  The new owner should not submit original documents for recording; the USPTO will not return those documents.  37 C.F.R. §3.25(c)(2); TMEP §503.03(b).

 

The following refusal and requirement(s) are maintained and continued: 

 

            •  Specimen refusal.  The specimen refusal appears to show use of the mark on a cardboard mockup of a headset for a virtual reality game created for a university media lab design project and as such, does not show use of the mark in commerce for any of the identified goods in International Class 28.  Moreover, headsets for virtual reality games are not class 28 goods; they are classified in International Class 9. 

 

            •  Amended format for trust.  Applicant is a trust and must identify the trustee as the applicant and indicate the name of the trust, if any.  TMEP §803.03(e).  Additionally, applicant must state under whose laws the trust exists, and list the names and citizenship of the individual trustees.  Id.  Applicant must amend the application to identify itself using the following format:  “THE TRUSTEES OF THE SOLOMON CHD TRUST, A MASSACHUSETTS TRUST, COMPRISING ______________ (list name of all trustees and their legal entity type and national citizenship (for individuals) or foreign country or U.S. state of organization or incorporation (for businesses), as appropriate - for example, comprising DENNIS SOLOMON, AN INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES CITIZEN, JANE DOE SOLOMON, AN INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES CITIZEN, AND CHD CORP., A MASSACHUSETTS CORPORATION)”  Id.  When there are more than ten individual trustees, applicant need list only the first ten trustees.  Id.

 

 These refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) will be made final once this application is removed from suspension, unless a new issue arises.  See TMEP §716.01.

 

In addition, the following refusal and requirement are withdrawn: 

 

• Section 2(d) refusal, based on a likelihood of confusion with the mark in U.S. Registration No. 5107338, in light of applicant’s statement that applicant is the owner of cited Registration No. 5107338. 

 

• Identification of goods.

 

See TMEP §713.02.

 

Suspension process.  The USPTO will periodically check this application to determine if it should remain suspended.  See TMEP §716.04.  As needed, the trademark examining attorney will issue a letter to applicant to inquire about the status of the reason for the suspension.  TMEP §716.05. 

 

No response required.  Applicant may file a response, but is not required to do so. 

 

Because of the legal technicalities and strict deadlines of the trademark application process, applicant may wish to hire a private attorney who specializes in trademark matters to assist in the process.  The assigned trademark examining attorney can provide only limited assistance explaining the content of an Office action and the application process.  USPTO staff cannot provide legal advice or statements about an applicant’s legal rights.  TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.  See Hiring a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney for more information.

 

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.  

 

 

/Kathy de Jonge/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 107

(571) 272-9152

kathleen.dejonge@USPTO.gov (informal use only)

 

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on November 03, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88313452

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.  No response is necessary.

 

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

 

/Kathy de Jonge/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 107

(571) 272-9152

kathleen.dejonge@USPTO.gov (informal use only)

 

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).

 

 

 

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.”