To: | DDC Nutrition LLC (xixi.chen@ddcnutrition.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88356792 - DDC - N/A |
Sent: | 7/1/2019 2:24:19 PM |
Sent As: | ECOM106@USPTO.GOV |
Attachments: |
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)
OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION
U.S. APPLICATION SERIAL NO. 88356792
MARK: DDC
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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: DDC Nutrition LLC
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE
ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 7/1/2019
STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: To avoid abandonment of applicant’s trademark application, the USPTO must receive either a properly signed response or an explanation of the signer’s legal authority to bind or represent applicant within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer.
NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RESPONSE
The problem with applicant’s response: Applicant filed a response on June 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 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.
The only parties who can properly sign responses 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 Hang Yu because Hang Yu signed as “owner” and seeks to amend the application to identify Hang Yu as an individual “owner” of the proposed mark, rather than DDC Nutrition LLC, a limited liability company. Therefore, it is unclear whether Hang Yu is an actual manager, member, principal, or owner DDC Nutrition LLC. (See TMEP §611.06(g) regarding persons authorized to sign on behalf of a limited liability company). Thus, it is not clear that the signer, Hang Yu, had legal authority to bind or represent DDC Nutrition LLC.
What applicant must do to fix the problem: Applicant must resubmit the entire 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). If submitting a newly signed response, applicant must also explicitly address and respond to all the issues raised in the outstanding Office action dated June 13, 2019. See37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.03. The USPTO must receive a properly signed response or explanation within (1) thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of this letter, or (2) the time remaining in the six-month period for responding to the previous Office action, whichever is longer. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a)(2); TMEP §§712.03, 718.03(b).
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 again, 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.
If the outstanding Office action was a final Office action, please note that the granting of additional time to perfect a response does not extend the time for filing an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board under 37 C.F.R. §§2.141, 2.142 or a petition to the Director under 37 C.F.R. §2.146. 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(3); TMEP §718.03(b). An applicant must file a notice of appeal or petition within six months of the issuance date of a final action. 37 C.F.R. §§2.142(a), 2.146(d); see 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(2)(ii)-(iii).
What happens if the USPTO does not receive a properly signed response within the specified time period: If applicant does not properly respond within the specified time period, this application will be abandoned because applicant filed an incomplete response. 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §§715.03(a)(ii)(E), 718.03. In such case, applicant may file a petition to the Director to request a reversal of the decision to abandon the application. TMEP §§718.03(b), 1713.01-.02; see 37 C.F.R. §2.146(a)(3). The petition must be filed within two months of the date of issuance of the notice of abandonment and may be filed online through TEAS with a $100 fee. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(15)(ii), 2.146(d); TMEP §1705.04.
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.
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).
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.
/Martha L. Fromm/
Trademark Examining Attorney
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - Law Office 106
571-272-9320
Martha.Fromm@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.