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:  December 03, 2019

 

This Office action is in response to applicant’s Statement of Use filed on November 4, 2019.

 

 

Clarification of Dates of First Use Required

 

The statement of use sets forth dates of first use anywhere and in commerce of the mark that are after the date the statement of use was signed and filed, and clarification is required regarding the basis for registration.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.61(b); TMEP §§903.04, 1109.09(a).  Specifically, on November 4, 2019, the statement of use sets forth the following dates of use:  11/00/2019.  The USPTO interprets the date as 11/30/2019.  See TMEP §903.06.  Although applicant has provided dates of use that are before the expiration of the statutory period for filing the statement of use, applicant may not allege use that has not yet occurred.  See TMEP §903.04.

 

Applicant may respond to this refusal by satisfying one of the following:

 

(1)       If the dates of use are correct, applicant must resubmit (1) date of first use of the mark anywhere and (2) date of first use of the mark in commerce, verified with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.  TMEP §903.04; see 37 C.F.R. §§2.71(c), 2.193(e)(1); TMEP §1109.09(a).  Any amended dates of first use should be dates that are prior to the expiration of the deadline for filing the statement of use and prior to the date the amendment was signed and filed; an applicant may not allege use that has not yet occurred.  See TMEP §§903.04, 1109.09(a).

 

(2)       If the dates of use are incorrect but the correct dates are on or before the expiration of the deadline for filing a statement of use, the applicant must provide the correct dates of use, verified with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20.  TMEP §903.04.

 

If the mark was not in use in commerce before the expiration of the time allowed for filing a statement of use, the application will be abandoned.  TMEP §903.04; see C.F.R. §2.88(k).  Applicant may not withdraw the statement of use or amend the application back to intent to use under Trademark Act Section 1(b).  37 C.F.R. §2.88(f); TMEP §§903.04, 1109.17.

 

For an overview of the requirements for providing verified date(s) of use and instructions on how to satisfy these requirements online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, please go to the Dates of Use webpage.

 

 

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 nonfinal Office action.    

 

 

/Kathleen Lorenzo/

Kathleen Lorenzo

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 109

Kathleen.Lorenzo@uspto.gov

571-272-5883

 

 

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 December 03, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88367343

 

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. 

 

 

/Kathleen Lorenzo/

Kathleen Lorenzo

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 109

Kathleen.Lorenzo@uspto.gov

571-272-5883

 

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 December 03, 2019, 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.”