To: | Dropified LLC (steve@yorkhowell.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88457601 - DROPIFIED - N/A |
Sent: | March 16, 2020 09:50:49 AM |
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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FINAL 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) and/or Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form and/or to ESTTA for an appeal appears at the end of this Office action.
Issue date: March 16, 2020
This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on February 19, 2020.
Applicant was previously refused registration in International Class(es) 35 because the specimen did not show the mark in use with the identified services. Response options for overcoming that refusal, if any, were set forth in the prior Office action. Applicant, however, responded to such refusal by submitting a substitute specimen for each refused international class that does not show proper use of the applied-for mark in commerce for the reasons immediately stated below.
Thus, the refusal to register the applied-for mark in International Class(es) 35 is now made final because applicant failed to provide evidence of use of the mark in commerce. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a), 2.63(b); TMEP §§904, 904.07, 1301.04(g)(i).
Specimen does not show use in specific class(es). Registration is refused because the specimen does not show the applied-for mark as actually used in commerce in connection with any of the goods and/or services specified in International Class(es) 35. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); In re Keep A Breast Found., 123 USPQ2d 1869, 1876-79 (TTAB 2017); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a), 1301.04(d), (g)(i). An application based on Trademark Act Section 1(a) must include a specimen showing the applied-for mark as actually used 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); see In re Gulf Coast Nutritionals, Inc., 106 USPQ2d 1243, 1247 (TTAB 2013).
The services are identified as:
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 relating to inventory customization and 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 filed with the initial application was found to be unacceptable because it only showed the mark DROPIFIED in use in an advertisement for a software application. The specimen did not show the mark being used to any of the identified management services performed by the applicant.
In the response, applicant filed a substitute specimen consisting of a screenshot of the software application itself. While the application appears to provide the various management functions in the identification of services, the specimen does not show how the applicant is providing these services. The screenshot appears to only show how the consumer can use the application to perform the business management, freight management and other services themselves.
Because the specimens do not show use with the identified services, they are not acceptable and registration is refused.
Examples of specimens. Specimens for services must show a direct association between the mark and the services and include: (1) copies of advertising and marketing material, (2) a photograph of business signage or billboards, or (3) materials showing the mark in the sale, rendering, or advertising of the services. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(2), (c); TMEP §1301.04(a), (h)(iv)(C).
Any webpage printout or screenshot submitted as a specimen, whether for goods or services, must include the webpage’s URL and the date it was accessed or printed. 37 C.F.R. §2.56(c).
Response options. 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) (which includes withdrawing an amendment to allege use, if one was filed), as no specimen is required before publication. This option will later necessitate additional fee(s) and filing requirements, including a specimen.
For an overview of the response options referenced above and instructions on how to satisfy these options using the online Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, see the Specimen webpage.
OPTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO FINAL ACTION
Applicant must respond within six months of the date of issuance of this final Office action or the application will be abandoned. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a). Applicant may respond by providing one or both of the following:
(1) A request for reconsideration that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals; and/or
(2) An appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board with the required filing fees.
TMEP §715.01; see 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(1)-(2).
The USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions; however, emails can be used for informal communications and are included in the application record. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05.
How to respond. Click to file a request for reconsideration of this final Office action that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals and/or click to file a timely appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) with the required filing fee(s).
/Eugenia K. Martin/
Eugenia K. Martin
Examining Attorney
Law Office 114
571-272-9458
eugenia.martin@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE