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:  February 25, 2020

 

This Office action is supplemental to and supersedes the previous Office action issued on July 26, 2019 in connection with this application.  The assigned trademark examining attorney inadvertently omitted a requirement relevant to the mark in the subject application.  See TMEP §§706, 711.02.  Specifically, the function of applicant’s mobile application and virtual reality software is not specified.

 

The trademark examining attorney apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the delay in raising this issue. 

 

Applicant must address all issues raised in this Office action, in addition to the issues raised in the Office action dated July 26, 2019.  

 

Further, the following requirements have been satisfied:  disclaimer requirement and identification of goods requirement.  See TMEP §713.02.  In addition, the prior pending application has been withdrawn. Id.  

 

The following is a SUMMARY OF ISSUES that applicant must address:

 

            • Identification of Goods – Applies to the Goods Specified Therein

 

Applicant must respond to all issues raised in this Office action and the previous July 26, 2019 Office action, within six (6) months of the date of issuance of this Office action.  37 C.F.R. §2.62(a); see TMEP §711.02.  If applicant does not respond within this time limit, the application will be abandoned.  37 C.F.R. §2.65(a).

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS REQUIREMENT

 

THIS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THE GOODS SPECIFIED THEREIN

 

The wordings “downloadable mobile applications for sports wagering, sporting events, gaming and gambling” and “downloadable virtual reality software for sports wagering, sporting events, gaming, and betting” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the function of the software is not specified.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.

 

International Class 9: Downloadable game software; downloadable interactive game software; downloadable computer game software; downloadable electronic game software; downloadable video game software; recorded game software; downloadable and recorded gaming software for gambling; downloadable games that accept virtual or monetary wagers sold as a feature of downloadable game software; downloadable mobile applications for sports wagering, for viewing sporting events, gaming and gambling; downloadable mobile applications for social networking and collecting, editing, organizing, modifying, displaying, tagging, sharing, or otherwise providing media or information; downloadable electronic publications in the nature of newsletters and blogs in the fields of entertainment, gaming, gambling, sports, and sporting events; virtual reality headsets; virtual reality glasses; downloadable virtual reality software for sports wagering, for viewing sporting events, gaming, and sports betting

 

Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods, but not to broaden or expand the goods beyond those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Generally, any deleted goods may not later be reinserted.  See TMEP §1402.07(e).

 

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.

 

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.

 

If applicant does not timely respond to this Office action, the following goods will be deleted from the application:  downloadable mobile applications for sports wagering, sporting events, gaming and gambling and downloadable virtual reality software for sports wagering, sporting events, gaming, and betting.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); TMEP §718.02(a). 

 

In such case, the application will then proceed with the following goods only:  Downloadable game software; downloadable interactive game software; downloadable computer game software; downloadable electronic game software; downloadable video game software; recorded game software; downloadable and recorded gaming software for gambling; downloadable games that accept virtual or monetary wagers sold as a feature of downloadable game software; downloadable mobile applications for social networking and collecting, editing, organizing, modifying, displaying, tagging, sharing, or otherwise providing media or information; downloadable electronic publications in the nature of newsletters and blogs in the fields of entertainment, gaming, gambling, sports, and sporting events; virtual reality headsets; virtual reality glasses. 

 

See TMEP §718.02(a). 

 

How to respond.  Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.    

 

 

/Marcya N. Betts/

Marcya N. Betts

Examining Attorney

Law Office 106

(571) 272-4913

Marcya.Betts@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 February 25, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88421211

 

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. 

 

 

/Marcya N. Betts/

Marcya N. Betts

Examining Attorney

Law Office 106

(571) 272-4913

Marcya.Betts@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 February 25, 2020, 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.”