Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

NONFINAL OFFICE ACTION

 

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).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

 

Issue date:  June 06, 2020

 

This application was approved for publication on May 4, 2020.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.80.  However, approval of the application has been withdrawn to address the issue(s) below.  See TMEP §706.01.  The trademark examining attorney apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause applicant.

 

Clarification of Services and Proper Classification of Services

 

The wording “providing online interfaces, namely, web interfaces and mobile interfaces for connecting sellers with buyers” in Class 035 is indefinite and misclassified because it references services properly classified in Class 042.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.  In addition, the wording “providing temporary use of online non-downloadable middleware for providing a web and mobile interface for connecting sellers with buyers” in Class 042 must be clarified to indicate with greater specificity the nature of the services.

 

The following is suggested:

 

Class 035

 

• Facilitating the exchange and sale of services and products of third parties via computer and communication networks; online retail store services featuring third party premium services in personal growth and development; providing online marketplaces for sellers of goods and/or services; business networking; business assistance and consulting services; providing business directory information via global communications networks; business information and advertising services; providing online business directories featuring the businesses, products and services of others; marketing, advertising and promotion services; provision of market research and marketing information services; advertising and information distribution services, in particular, providing classified advertising space via the global computer network; promoting the goods and services of others via computer and communication networks

 

Class 042

 

• Providing temporary use of online non-downloadable middleware for providing a web and mobile interface BETWEEN {SPECIFY, E.G, software applications, web browsers, operating systems} for connecting sellers with buyers; application service provider featuring application programming interface (API) software for providing phone verification codes to verify phone numbers for social networking introduction; providing user authentication services using single sign-on technology for online software applications in the fields of social networking and social introduction; providing online non-downloadable interface software, namely, web interfaces and mobile interfaces BETWEEN {specify, e.g, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS} for connecting sellers with buyers

 

Applicant’s goods and/or services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different goods and/or services or add goods and/or services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b).  The scope of the goods and/or services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification.  TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b).  Any acceptable changes to the goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted.  TMEP §1402.07(e).

 

For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and services in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual.  See TMEP §1402.04.

 

How to respond.  Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.    

 

 

/CarynGlasser/

Caryn Glasser

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 105

Phone:  (571) 270-1517

Fax:  (571) 270-2517

caryn.glasser@uspt

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon.  A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon.  If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant.  If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

 

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on June 06, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88351289

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter that you must respond to by the specified deadline or your application will be abandoned.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.

 

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

 

 

/CarynGlasser/

Caryn Glasser

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 105

Phone:  (571) 270-1517

Fax:  (571) 270-2517

caryn.glasser@uspt

 

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).

 

(3)  Respond within 6 months (or earlier, if required in the Office action) from June 06, 2020, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  See the Office action for more information about how to respond

 

 

 

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.”