To: | Blackhawk Network, Inc. (docketingtm-dc@btlaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88438239 - QUICKTICKET - 60656-295045 |
Sent: | August 12, 2019 05:12:33 PM |
Sent As: | ecom121@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88438239
Mark: QUICKTICKET
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: Blackhawk Network, Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. 60656-295045
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: August 12, 2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issues below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
Prior-Filed Applications
In response to this Office action, applicant may present arguments in support of registration by addressing the issue of the potential conflict between applicant’s mark and the marks in the referenced applications. Applicant’s election not to submit arguments at this time in no way limits applicant’s right to address this issue later if a refusal under Section 2(d) issues.
Section 2(e)(1) Refusal – Merely Descriptive
“Whether consumers could guess what the [service] is from consideration of the mark alone is not the test.” In re Am. Greetings Corp., 226 USPQ 365, 366 (TTAB 1985).
In this case, applicant’s mark is QUICKTICKET for “Providing services to enable the purchase of lottery entries at, and the issuance of lottery receipts at, retail checkout registers, namely, electronic cash transactions, credit card and debit card transaction processing services” in Class 36 and “Providing services to enable the purchase of lottery entries at, and the issuance of lottery receipts at, retail checkout registers, namely, platform as a service (PAAS) featuring computer software platforms for printing receipts” in Class 42. Generally, if the individual components of a mark retain their descriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services, the combination results in a composite mark that is itself descriptive and not registrable. In re Petroglyph Games, Inc., 91 USPQ2d 1332, 1341 (TTAB 2009) (holding BATTLECAM merely descriptive of computer game software with a feature that involve battles and provides the player with the option to utilize various views of the battlefield); In re Cox Enters., 82 USPQ2d 1040, 1043 (TTAB 2007) (holding THEATL merely descriptive of publications featuring news and information about Atlanta where THEATL was the equivalent of the nickname THE ATL for the city of Atlanta); In re Tower Tech, Inc., 64 USPQ2d 1314, 1317-18 (TTAB 2002) (holding SMARTTOWER merely descriptive of highly automated cooling towers); In re Sun Microsystems, Inc., 59 USPQ2d 1084, 1085 (TTAB 2001) (holding AGENTBEANS merely descriptive of computer software for use in developing and deploying application programs on a global computer network).
Only where the combination of descriptive terms creates a unitary mark with a unique, incongruous, or otherwise nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services is the combined mark registrable. See In re Colonial Stores, Inc., 394 F.2d 549, 551, 157 USPQ 382, 384 (C.C.P.A. 1968); In re Positec Grp. Ltd., 108 USPQ2d 1161, 1162-63 (TTAB 2013).
In this case, both the individual components and the composite result are descriptive of applicant’s goods and/or services and do not create a unique, incongruous, or nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services. Specifically, the wording QUICK means “moving fast or doing something in a short time” and TICKET means “a receipt for goods that have been received.” Consumers viewing the wording together or individually would understand the mark to merely describe a characteristic or purpose of applicant’s services, namely, that applicant provides transaction services and technology services that provide tickets to recipients in a short period of time.
Because applicant’s proposed mark, QUICKTICKET, is merely descriptive of the characteristic or purpose of applicant’s services, registration must be refused on the Principal Register under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act.
Supplemental Register Advisory
If applicant files an acceptable allegation of use and also amends to the Supplemental Register, the application effective filing date will be the date applicant met the minimum filing requirements under 37 C.F.R. §2.76(c) for an amendment to allege use. TMEP §§816.02, 1102.03; see 37 C.F.R. §2.75(b). In addition, the undersigned trademark examining attorney will conduct a new search of the USPTO records for conflicting marks based on the later application filing date. TMEP §§206.01, 1102.03.
Attorney Bar Information and Attestation Requirement
Applicant’s attorney must provide the following bar information: (1) his or her bar membership number, if the bar provides one; (2) the name of the U.S. state, commonwealth, or territory of his or her bar membership; and (3) the year of his or her admission to the bar. 37 C.F.R. §2.17(b)(3). This information is required for all U.S.-licensed attorneys who are representing trademark applicants at the USPTO. Id. If the attorney’s bar does not issue bar membership numbers, applicant must state this for the record. See id.
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.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action
/Elizabeth Shen/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Law Office 121
571-270-7111
elizabeth.shen@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE