To: | Dependable Service Plumbing & Air, Inc. (info@onlinetrademarkattorneys.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88332040 - JOHN - DSP-544-2 |
Sent: | July 19, 2019 01:38:02 PM |
Sent As: | ecom120@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88332040
Mark: JOHN
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Correspondence Address:
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Applicant: Dependable Service Plumbing & Air, Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. DSP-544-2
Correspondence Email Address: |
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The USPTO must receive applicant’s response to this letter within six months of the issue date below or the application will be abandoned. Respond using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and/or Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form and/or to ESTTA for an appeal appears at the end of this Office action.
Issue date: July 19, 2019
This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on June 12, 2019.
In a previous Office action(s) dated May 27, 2019, the trademark examining attorney refused registration of the applied-for mark based on the following: Trademark Act Section 1 and 45 Refusal – Specimen does not show use in commerce. In addition, applicant was required to satisfy the following requirement(s): Description Incomplete.
Further, the trademark examining attorney maintains and now makes FINAL the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in the summary of issues below. See 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b); TMEP §714.04.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES MADE FINAL that applicant must address:
Trademark Act Section 1 and 45 Refusal – Specimen does not show use in commerce
Registration is refused because the specimen does not show the mark in the drawing in use in commerce in International Class(es) 37, which is required in the application or amendment to allege use. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a), 1301.04(g)(i). The mark appearing on the specimen and in the drawing must match; that is, the mark in the drawing “must be a substantially exact representation of the mark” on the specimen. See 37 C.F.R. §2.51(a)-(b); TMEP §807.12(a).
In this case, the specimen displays the mark as an incomplete cartoon figure. However, the drawing displays the mark as a complete cartoon figure. The mark on the specimen does not match the mark in the drawing because it does not show the entirety of the applied for mark. Applicant has thus failed to provide the required evidence of use of the mark in commerce. See TMEP §807.12(a).
Applicant may respond to this refusal by satisfying one of the following:
(1) Submit a new drawing of the mark that shows the mark on the specimen and, if appropriate, an amendment of the description and/or color claim that agrees with the new drawing. See 37 C.F.R. §2.72(a)-(b). Applicant may amend the mark in the drawing to match the mark on the specimen but may not make any other changes or amendments that would materially alter the drawing of the mark. See 37 C.F.R. §2.72(a)-(b); TMEP §807.14.
(2) Submit a different specimen (a verified “substitute” specimen) for each applicable international class that (a) shows the mark in the drawing in actual use in commerce for the goods and/or services in the application or amendment to allege use, and (b) was in actual use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application or prior to the filing of an amendment to allege use.
Examples of specimens for goods include tags, labels, instruction manuals, containers, photographs that show the mark on the actual goods or packaging, and displays associated with the actual goods at their point of sale. See TMEP §§904.03 et seq. Webpages may also be specimens for goods when they include a picture or textual description of the goods associated with the mark and the means to order the goods. TMEP §904.03(i). Examples of specimens for services include advertising and marketing materials, brochures, photographs of business signage and billboards, and webpages that show the mark used in the actual sale, rendering, or advertising of the services. See TMEP §1301.04(a), (h)(iv)(C).
For more information about drawings and instructions on how to satisfy these response options online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, see the Drawing webpage.
Description Incomplete
A complete description must identify all the literal and design elements in the mark and specify where the colors appear in those elements>. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq.
The following description is suggested, if accurate:
Color claim: “The colors blue, brown, red, black, gray, tan, and white are claimed as a feature of the mark.”
The mark consists of a cartoon figure of a cross-armed man with tan skin, brown hair, brown eyes, brown eyebrows, white teeth and black outline accent lines. The cartoon figure is wearing a blue, red, gray shirt with a white undershirt, gray cross necklace, and white buttons with black outlines and a black watch. A white box outlined in black is located on the upper left chest of the shirt. The wording “JOHN” is written in black on the center of the white box. An illegible logo design in blue and red is on the right upper chest of the shirt. The cartoon figure is wearing blue jeans and black and gray shoes, with a black belt and gray belt buckle and brown tool belt. Red, gray, and blue tools are set within the belt. The entire cartoon figure is outlined in white. All other instances of white represent background and are not claimed as features of the mark.
Response Guidelines
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.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this final Office action and/or appeal it to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
(1) a response filed using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) that fully satisfies all outstanding requirements and/or resolves all outstanding refusals; and/or
(2) an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board filed using the Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA) with the required filing fee of $200 per class.
37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(1)-(2); TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(18); TBMP ch. 1200.
In certain rare circumstances, an applicant may respond by filing a petition to the Director pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2) to review procedural issues. TMEP §714.04; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(b); TBMP §1201.05; TMEP §1704 (explaining petitionable matters). There is a fee required for filing a petition. 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(15).
/Grace Duffin/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 120
571-270-7069
Grace.Duffin@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE