To: | Dropified LLC (steve@yorkhowell.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88457601 - DROPIFIED - N/A |
Sent: | August 27, 2019 12:04:09 PM |
Sent As: | ecom114@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88457601
Mark: DROPIFIED
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: Dropified LLC
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
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 27, 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 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).
SUMMARY OF ISSUES APPLICANT MUST ADDRESS
THIS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THE SERVICES SPECIFIED THEREIN
In the application, the applicant included the wording “Business management services, namely, managing office functions in the nature of … for others” which includes a fill-in element which must identify the type of office functions provided, such as copying or typing. Instead of identifying office functions, applicant included the wording “supply chain management.” This does not identify the specific office functions provided, and therefore this wording must be amended.
Applicant’s goods and/or services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06. Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different goods and/or services or add goods and/or services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended. See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b). The scope of the goods and/or services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification. TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b). Any acceptable changes to the goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted. 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.
Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate:
International Class 35: Business management services, namely, managing logistics, reverse logistics, supply chain services, supply chain visibility and synchronization, supply and demand forecasting and product distribution processes for others; Business management services, namely, managing office functions in the nature of supply chain management office functions, specifically, (identify the office functions, such as typing); business management services relating to drop shipping; business management and marketing consultation; business management services for online stores; business marketing consultation; business management consultancy; business management assistance; marketing services; provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services; providing business information via a website for others; Business management services, namely, administration of competitions for supply chain management; business management services relating to drop shipping; business management and marketing consultation; business management services for online stores; business marketing consultation; business management consultancy; business management assistance; marketing services; provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services; providing business information via a website; Business consulting services relating to product distribution, operations management services, logistics, reverse logistics, supply chain, and production systems and distribution solutions; Freight management services, namely, shipment processing, preparing shipping documents and invoices, tracking documents, packages and freight over computer networks, intranets and the internet for business purposes.
Business management services, namely, managing logistics, reverse logistics, supply chain services, supply chain visibility and synchronization, supply and demand forecasting and product distribution processes for others; Business management services, namely, managing office functions in the nature of supply chain management; business management services relating to drop shipping; business management and marketing consultation; business management services for online stores; business marketing consultation; business management consultancy; business management assistance; marketing services; provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services; providing business information via a website for others; Business management services, namely, administration of competitions for supply chain management; business management services relating to drop shipping; business management and marketing consultation; business management services for online stores; business marketing consultation; business management consultancy; business management assistance; marketing services; provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services; providing business information via a website; Business consulting services relating to product distribution, operations management services, logistics, reverse logistics, supply chain, and production systems and distribution solutions; Freight management services, namely, shipment processing, preparing shipping documents and invoices, tracking documents, packages and freight over computer networks, intranets and the internet for business purposes.
The specimen, however, does not show the mark used in relation to any of the services provided. Instead, the mark DROPIFIED is used only in relation to a software application. Nowhere in the specimen is the mark shown in use in relation to the identified services in the application. Therefore, the specimen of use is not acceptable.
An application based on Trademark Act Section 1(a) must include a specimen showing the applied-for mark in use in commerce for each international class of goods and/or services identified in the application or amendment to allege use. 15 U.S.C. §1051(a)(1); 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a).
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). Examples of specimens for services include advertising and marketing materials, brochures, photographs of business signage and billboards, and webpages that show the mark used in the actual sale, rendering, or advertising of the services. See TMEP §1301.04(a), (h)(iv)(C). Specimens comprising advertising and promotional materials must show a direct association between the mark and the services. TMEP §1301.04(f)(ii).
Applicant may respond to this refusal by satisfying one of the following for each applicable international class:
(1) Submit a different specimen (a verified “substitute” specimen) that (a) 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 and (b) shows the mark in actual use in commerce for the goods and/or services identified in the application or amendment to allege use. A “verified substitute specimen” is a specimen that is accompanied by the following statement made in a signed affidavit or supported by a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20: “The substitute (or new, or originally submitted, if appropriate) specimen(s) was/were in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application or prior to the filing of the amendment to allege use.” The substitute specimen cannot be accepted without this statement.
(2) 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.
For an overview of both response options referenced above and instructions on how to satisfy either option online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, please go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/law/specimen.jsp.
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 note, TEAS Plus applicants are subject to additional requirements.
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.
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
/Eugenia K. Martin
Eugenia K. Martin
Examining Attorney
Law Office 114
571-272-9458
eugenia.martin@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE