To: | The Kane Group, LLC (sdbaker@nilesbarton.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88472376 - THE KANE GROUP - N/A |
Sent: | September 03, 2019 02:55:45 PM |
Sent As: | ecom116@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88472376
Mark: THE KANE GROUP
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: The Kane Group, 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: September 03, 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.
Summary of Issues that the Applicant Must Address
1) Amended Color Description of the Mark is Required
2) Disclaimer of Descriptive Wording in the Mark is Required
3) Attorney Bar Information is Required
4) Attorney Attestation is Required
AMENDED COLOR DESCRIPTION OF THE MARK IS REQUIRED
A complete description must identify all the literal and design elements in the mark and specify where the colors appear in those elements. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a) et seq. If black, white, and/or gray are not being claimed as a color feature of the mark, applicant must exclude them from the color claim and include in the description a statement that black, white, and/or gray represent background, outlining, shading, and/or transparent areas and are not part of the mark. See TMEP §807.07(d).
The following description is suggested, if accurate:
The mark consists of the wording "THE KANE GROUP" in blue letters. The word “KANE” is outlined in white and overlaps a stylized red circle on a white background with smaller gradient red circles inside and multiple red lines extending from the left side of the circle to indicate wind or speed. The entire mark appears on a white background.
DISCLAIMER OF DESCRIPTIVE WORDING IN THE MARK IS REQUIRED
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “GROUP” because it is not inherently distinctive. This unregistrable term merely designates the legal character of an entity and does not indicate the source of the applicant’s services. See 15 U.S.C. §§1051-1053, 1127; In re Piano Factory Grp., Inc., 85 USPQ2d 1522, 1526 (TTAB 2006); In re Patent & Trademark Servs., Inc., 49 USPQ2d 1537, 1539-40 (TTAB 1998); TMEP §1213.03(d).
Business type designations and abbreviations such as “Corporation,” “Inc.,” “Company,” “LLC,” and “GROUP” or family business designations such as “& Sons” or “Bros.” must be disclaimed, because they merely indicate applicant’s business type or structure and generally have no source-indicating capacity. TMEP §1213.03(d); see, e.g., Goodyear’s India Rubber Glove Mfg. Co. v. Goodyear Rubber Co., 128 U.S. 598, 602-03 (1888); In re Piano Factory Grp., Inc., 85 USPQ2d at 1526; In re Patent & Trademark Servs., Inc., 49 USPQ2d at 1539-40. A “GROUP is a number of individual companies assembled together; often having some unifying relationship.” VentureLine. A copy of the entry is attached.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “GROUP” 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 IS REQUIRED
ATTORNEY ATTESTATION IS REQUIRED
ASSISTANCE
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).
RESPONSE TO OFFICE ACTION
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
/Tina L Snapp/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 116
571-272-9224
Informal Email Tina.Snapp@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE