To: | Jill Martin Projects, LLC (pnussbaum@csglaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88418800 - JILL MARTIN - 23205/1/8 |
Sent: | July 24, 2019 10:35:53 AM |
Sent As: | ecom103@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88418800
Mark: JILL MARTIN
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Correspondence Address: CHIESA SHAHINIAN & GIANTOMASI PC
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Applicant: Jill Martin Projects, LLC
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Reference/Docket No. 23205/1/8
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 24, 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 FOR CONFLICTING 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).
- DRAWING AND SPECIMEN DO NOT MATCH
- CONSENT OF RECORD ADVISORY
MARK ON THE DRAWING AND SPECIMEN DIFFER
Registration is refused because the specimen does not show the mark in the drawing in use in commerce in International Class(es) 24, which is required in the application or amendment to allege use. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a), 1301.04(g)(i). The mark appearing on the specimen and in the drawing must match; that is, the mark in the drawing “must be a substantially exact representation of the mark” on the specimen. See 37 C.F.R. §2.51(a)-(b); TMEP §807.12(a).
In this case, the specimen displays the mark as G.I.L.I. by Jill Martin. However, the drawing displays the mark as JILL MARTIN. The mark on the specimen does not match the mark in the drawing because the wording “G.I.L.I. by” is added to the applied-for mark in a way that is not separable. The specimen even indicates the unity of the mark, stating “the G.I.L.I. by Jill Martin brand”, which is listed under an “About the Brand” section. Applicant has thus failed to provide the required evidence of use of the mark in commerce. See TMEP §807.12(a).
Applicant may respond to this refusal by satisfying one of the following:
(1) Submit a different specimen (a verified “substitute” specimen) for each applicable international class that (a) shows the mark in the drawing in actual use in commerce for the goods and/or services in the application or amendment to allege use, and (b) was in actual use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application or prior to the filing of an amendment to allege use.
Examples of specimens for goods include tags, labels, instruction manuals, containers, photographs that show the mark on the actual goods or packaging, and displays associated with the actual goods at their point of sale. See TMEP §§904.03 et seq. Webpages may also be specimens for goods when they include a picture or textual description of the goods associated with the mark and the means to order the goods. TMEP §904.03(i).
(2) Submit a request to amend the filing basis to intent to use under Section 1(b), for which no specimen is required. This option will later necessitate additional fee(s) and filing requirements such as providing a specimen.
The USPTO will not accept an amended drawing submitted in response to this refusal because the changes would materially alter the drawing of the mark in the original application or as previously acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.72(a)-(b); TMEP §807.14. Specifically, amending the mark on the drawing to agree with the mark on the specimen would be a material alteration, as it includes the separately searchable elements of “G.I.L.I. by” and the phrase in its entirety conveys a different commercial impression from the applied-for mark.
For more information about drawings and instructions on how to satisfy these response options online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, see the Drawing webpage.
CONSENT OF RECORD ADVISORY
The following statement is added to the record:
The name(s), portrait(s), and/or signature(s) shown in the mark identifies a living individual(s) whose consent(s) to register is made of record.
TMEP §§813.01(a), 1206.04(b); see 37 C.F.R. §2.61(b).
Applicant is encouraged to call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney below to resolve the issues in this Office action. Although the USPTO will not accept an email as a response to an Office action, an applicant can communicate by phone or email to agree to a proposed amendment to the application that will immediately place the application in condition for publication, registration, or suspension. See 37 C.F.R. §2.62(c); TMEP §707.
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
/Cassie Anderson/
Law Office 103
Cassondra.Anderson@uspto.gov
(571) 272-5595
RESPONSE GUIDANCE