To: | Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB (joan.kluger@btlaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88466303 - WSFS SNAPSHOT DEPOSIT - 68837-279599 |
Sent: | August 31, 2019 01:32:15 PM |
Sent As: | ecom104@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 Attachment - 14 Attachment - 15 Attachment - 16 Attachment - 17 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88466303
Mark: WSFS SNAPSHOT DEPOSIT
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Correspondence Address: 1000 N. WEST STREET, SUITE 1500
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Applicant: Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB
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Reference/Docket No. 68837-279599
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 31, 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 Results
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).
Telephone or E-mail Response Suggested
Disclaimer
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “SNAPSHOT DEPOSIT” because it is not inherently distinctive. These unregistrable term(s) at best are merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and/or services. See 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); DuoProSS Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 1251, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1755 (Fed. Cir. 2012); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a).
The attached evidence from ahdictionary.com and macmillandictionary.com shows this wording means the following: SNAPSHOT – “a photograph taken without the use of professional equipment;” and DEPOSIT – “to put (money) in a bank or financial account.” Thus, the wording merely describes applicant’s services because it describes features of the services. In particular, the term SNAPSHOT indicates to the consumer that a photograph taken with something other than professional equipment is used to put money a bank account. In this instance, according to the attached evidence from applicant’s website, the consumer uses their mobile phone or device to take a snapshot/photo of their check to make an online deposit of the money into their bank account. Please see the additional evidence from the applicant’s site and bannerbank.com to further support the descriptive nature of this wording as it is used on these two sites to describe features of the identical services that both parties offer.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “SNAPSHOT DEPOSIT” apart from the mark as shown.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
Attorney Bar Information
Attorney Attestation
Contact Information
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
Katina J. Joiner
/Katina J. Joiner/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 104
571-272-8889 (Office)
571-273-8889 (Fax)
katina.jackson@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE