To: | Goodbird Holding LLC (mo@bigredf.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88332322 - GSD - N/A |
Sent: | 5/22/2019 10:56:08 AM |
Sent As: | ECOM122@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88332322
MARK: GSD
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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: Goodbird Holding LLC
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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PRIORITY 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: 5/22/2019
DATABASE SEARCH: The trademark examining attorney has searched the USPTO’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).
ISSUES APPLICANT MUST ADDRESS: On May 21, 2019, the trademark examining attorney and John Bachman discussed the issues below. Applicant must timely respond to these issues. See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.62(a); TMEP §§708, 711.
The problem with applicant’s response: Applicant filed a Preliminary Amendment on March 14, 2019 that appears to have been improperly signed by a person with no legal authority to bind or represent applicant. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2). The USPTO cannot accept an improperly signed amendment/response; therefore, the contents will not be reviewed. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§712, 712.03, 718.03. It is noted that the requested name change appears acceptable but for the lack of signatory authority.
The only parties who can properly sign responses (or a preliminary amendment, in the present case) are as follows: (1) the individual applicant(s); (2) someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner); or (3) an authorized attorney. 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712. In the present case, the response was improperly signed by John Bachman because while he is a director, he lacks the authority to legally bind the applicant. Thus, the signer did not have legal authority to bind or represent the applicant.
What applicant must do to fix the problem: Applicant must resubmit the entire preliminary amendment as a response, signed by a proper party, or provide an explanation of the signer’s legal authority to bind or represent applicant, as explained more fully below. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(b)(2), 2.62(b), 2.193(e)(2).
Applicant is encouraged to respond online via the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). To respond via TEAS, applicant must either (1) complete the entire response form, responding to all issues raised in the outstanding Office action; or (2) provide an explanation as to the signer’s authority in the “miscellaneous statement” field in the TEAS response form.
GUIDELINES FOR SIGNING RESPONSES
As stated above, where an applicant is not represented by an attorney who may practice before the USPTO, the response must be signed by the individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner). See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §§611.03(b), 611.06(b)-(h), 712.01. In the case of joint applicants, all must sign. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(ii); TMEP §611.06(a).
Where an applicant is initially represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(e)(2)(i); TMEP §§611.03(b), 712.01. The only attorneys who may sign responses and otherwise practice before the USPTO in trademark matters are (1) attorneys in good standing with a bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. commonwealths or U.S. territories; and (2) Canadian agents/attorneys who represent applicants located in Canada and (a) are registered with the USPTO and in good standing as patent agents or (b) have been granted reciprocal recognition by the USPTO. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.17(e), 2.62(b), 11.1, 11.5(b)(2), 11.14(a), (c); TMEP §§602, 712.01. Attorneys who fail to meet these requirements, as well as non-attorneys, are generally not permitted to represent applicants in trademark matters before the USPTO; and thus, they may not sign responses. See 5 U.S.C. §500(b), (d); 37 C.F.R. §11.14(a)-(c), (e); TMEP §§602, 602.02, 608.01.
In addition, the proper signatory must personally sign or personally enter his or her electronic signature. See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(a), (e)(2); TMEP §§611.01(b), 611.02. The name of the signatory must also be printed or typed immediately below or adjacent to the signature, or identified elsewhere in the filing. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(d); TMEP §611.01(b).
Response guidelines. For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement in this Office Action. For a refusal, applicant may provide written arguments and evidence against the refusal, and may have other response options if specified above. For a requirement, applicant should set 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.
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.
/Jeff Molinoff/
Jeffrey S. Molinoff
Examining Attorney
Law Office 122
571.272.7290
jeffrey.molinoff@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.