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:  July 25, 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.

 

Database Search. 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).

 

REQUIREMENT FOR ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS

 

Given the wide range of goods identified in the application, and the nature of the specimens of record, the examining attorney requires additional specimens of use in this case to allow for a complete and accurate examination, and to assess the registrability of the applied-for mark.  37 C.F.R. §§2.56(a), 2.61(b), 2.86(a)(3); TMEP §§814, 904.01(a), 1402.03. 

 

The applicant must provide at least one specimen from each of the following groups of goods:

 

1. Car washing mitts; Cleaning brushes for barbecue grills;
2. Containers for household use, namely, glass bulbs;
3. Cosmetic brushes;
4. Electrical toothbrushes; Electrically-heated hair brushes; Hand-operated vaporizers for household purposes; Laundry sorters for household use;
5. Non-electric cooking steamers; Non-electric fruit squeezers; Cooking utensils, namely, grills; Cooking utensils, namely, wire baskets; Crushers for kitchen use, non-electric;
6. Grooming tools for pets, namely, combs and brushes; Pet grooming device comprising a sprayer nozzle and an attachment that connects to a water source and to a reservoir for a conditioning agent; Automated pet appliances, namely, litter boxes;

That is, the applicant is expected to provide at least 6 different specimens showing at least one good from each grouping noted above.

 If applicant is unable to provide specimens to support use of one or more categories of goods, the applicant must delete these entries, or amend the filing basis for those goods that were not in use as of the application filing date to an intent to use basis under Section 1(b).  This option will later necessitate additional fees and filing requirements such as providing a specimen for these goods at a subsequent date.

Failure to provide the required additional specimens is grounds for refusing registration.  In re Harley, 119 USPQ2d 1755, 1757-58 (TTAB 2016); TMEP §814.

 

 

Response guidelines.  For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement in this Office action.  For a refusal, applicant may provide written arguments and evidence against the refusal, and may have other response options if specified above.  For a requirement, applicant should set forth the changes or statements.  Please see “Responding to Office Actions” and the informational video “Response to Office Action” for more information and tips on responding.

 

Please call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney with questions about this Office action.  Although the trademark examining attorney cannot provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights, the trademark examining attorney can provide applicant with additional explanation about the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.  Although the USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions, emails can be used for informal communications and will be included in the application record.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05. 

 

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has previously held that marketing by different parties of different types of automotive parts and accessories under the same or similar marks is likely to cause confusion.  See, e.g., In re Delbar Prods., Inc., 217 USPQ 859, 861 (TTAB 1981) (holding ULTRA for outside mounted vehicle mirrors likely to be confused with ULTRA and design for automobile parts, namely pistons and pins, valves, water pumps, oil pumps, universal joints, gears, axle shafts, hydraulic brake parts, automatic transmission repair kits and parts, engine bearings and jacks); In re Red Diamond Battery Co., 203 USPQ 472, 472-73 (TTAB 1979) (holding RED DIAMOND for storage batteries likely to be confused with DIAMOND for pneumatic rubber automobile and vehicle tires); In re Trelleborgs Gummifabriks Aktiebolag,189 USPQ 106, 107-08 (TTAB 1975) (holding T and design for, inter alia, hoses, namely rubber hoses and inner tubes for tires and pneumatic, semisolid and solid tires likely to be confused with T and design for, inter alia, motor oil, oil additives and fuel additives); In re Magic Muffler Serv., Inc., 184 USPQ 125, 126 (TTAB 1974) (holding MAGIC for vehicle parts, namely mufflers, likely to be confused with MAGIC for motors for motor vehicles).

 

 

 

 

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  

 

 

/Joseph Becker/

Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 117

United States PTO

(571) 270-5493

Joseph.Becker1@uspto.gov

 

 

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 July 25, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88418162

 

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. 

 

 

/Joseph Becker/

Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 117

United States PTO

(571) 270-5493

Joseph.Becker1@uspto.gov

 

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 July 25, 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.”