To: | Rakuten, Inc. (BoxIP@hoganlovells.com) |
Subject: | U.S. TRADEMARK APPLICATION NO. 88390037 - RAKUTEN GORA - 1Y0049.26 |
Sent: | 5/8/2019 11:31:37 AM |
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. 88390037
MARK: RAKUTEN GORA
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: 7930 JONES BRANCH DRIVE, 9TH FLOOR |
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER: http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp
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APPLICANT: Rakuten, Inc.
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: CORRESPONDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS: |
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OFFICE 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: 5/8/2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issue(s) below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
SEARCH OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS
The trademark examining attorney has searched the Office’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).
Amendment to Identification of Goods and/or Services Required
Therefore, applicant must remove the parentheses from the identification and incorporate any parenthetical or bracketed information into the description of the goods and/or services.
The wording “agency services for reservation of the golf club rental services” is indefinite and must be clarified because it is unclear as to what the specific service is. Additionally, it appears to be misclassified.
The wording, “Transportation of passengers by bus (to golf course)” is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the services is unclear.
The wording, “Arranging of travel and sightseeing travel tours” is indefinite and overly broad and must be clarified because the nature of the services is unclear and could indicate services in multiple classes.
Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:
Class 35:
Promotion of golf club rental services on behalf of golf course providers
Class 39:
Storage of luggage in the nature of safekeeping of luggage for others; Transportation of passengers by bus in the nature of transportation services, namely, providing shuttle services for golfers by bus; Arranging of travel in the nature of coordinating travel arrangements for individuals and for groups; arranging sightseeing tours in the nature of arranging of transportation for travel tours
Class 41:
Golf course reservation services for customers; Organization, arranging and conducting of golf events and competitions; agency services for reservation of the golf club rental services in the nature of rental golf equipment reservations; arranging sightseeing travel tours in the nature of arranging and conducting guided hiking tours
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.
Prior Registrations
Partial Abandonment Advisory
If applicant does not respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, the following goods and/or services in International Class(es) 39 and 41 will be deleted from the application:
Class 39:
Storage of luggage in the nature of safekeeping of luggage for others; Transportation of passengers by bus in the nature of transportation services, namely, providing shuttle services for golfers by bus; Arranging of travel in the nature of coordinating travel arrangements for individuals and for groups; arranging sightseeing tours in the nature of arranging of transportation for travel tours
Class 41:
agency services for reservation of the golf club rental services in the nature of rental golf equipment reservations; arranging sightseeing travel tours in the nature of arranging and conducting guided hiking tours
The application will then proceed with the following goods and/or services in International Class(es) 35 and 41 only:
Class 35:
Promotion of golf club rental services on behalf of golf course providers
Class 41:
Golf course reservation services for customers; Organization, arranging and conducting of golf events and competitions
See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)-(a)(1); TMEP §718.02(a).
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.
/Grace Duffin/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 120
571-270-7069
Grace.Duffin@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.