To: | AP&G Co., Inc. (ptodocket@arelaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88407665 - SKEETER BAND - 03223/0051 |
Sent: | July 11, 2019 10:54:34 AM |
Sent As: | ecom101@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88407665
Mark: SKEETER BAND
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Correspondence Address: AMSTER ROTHSTEIN & EBENSTEIN LLP
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Applicant: AP&G Co., Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. 03223/0051
Correspondence Email Address: |
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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: July 11, 2019
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.
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).
SECTION 2(e)(1) REFUSAL - MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
“Whether consumers could guess what the product [or service] is from consideration of the mark alone is not the test.” In re Am. Greetings Corp., 226 USPQ 365, 366 (TTAB 1985).
“Skeeter” means “mosquito.” Merriam-Webster.com. “Band” means “a thin flat encircling strip.” Id. SKEETER BAND immediately describes wearable mosquito repellent devices and mosquito repellent bracelets, as the goods are skeeter repellent bands. It is noted that the identical mark for mosquito repellent bracelets is on appeal from final refusal for the same reason (application serial number 87584274). Contending that SKEETER BAND has alternate, non-descriptive meanings is spurious, as the meaning of a mark must be considered in the context of the goods. Since the goods repel mosquitoes, “skeeter” is equivalent to “mosquito.”
“Wearable mosquito repellent bands and bracelets,” in class 5;
“Wearable ultrasonic mosquito repellers,” in class 21.
ONLINE ID MANUAL
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.
MULTIPLE-CLASS APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
(1) List the goods by their international class number in consecutive numerical order, starting with the lowest numbered class.
(2) Submit a filing fee for each international class not covered by the fee already paid (view the USPTO’s current fee schedule). The application identifies goods that are classified in at least two classes; however, applicant submitted a fee sufficient for only one class. Applicant must either submit the filing fee for the class not covered by the submitted fee or restrict the application to the single class covered by the fee already paid.
See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(6)-(7), 2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).
See an overview of the requirements for a Section 1(b) multiple-class application and how to satisfy the requirements online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action
Ira Goodsaid
/Ira Goodsaid/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 101
571-272-9166
ira.goodsaid@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE