To: | Hoenig, Christopher W (chris.w.hoenig@gmail.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88503175 - THE ART OF GROWTH - N/A |
Sent: | September 30, 2019 06:42:59 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. 88503175
Mark: THE ART OF GROWTH
|
|
Correspondence Address: |
|
Applicant: Hoenig, Christopher W
|
|
Reference/Docket No. N/A
Correspondence Email Address: |
|
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 30, 2019
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney.
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).
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
Specimen does not show mark with specific Services
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.
The following information applies only if the applicant chooses to respond to the Office action. No set form is required for response to this Office action. However, the applicant must respond to each refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) raised. The applicant should simply set forth the required changes or statements and request that the Office enter them. If the response is filed electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), then applicant should sign the response by entering a “symbol” that applicant has adopted as a signature (e.g., /john doe/, /drl/, and /544-4925/). The Office will accept any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and/or punctuation marks as a valid signature if it is placed between two forward slash (“/”) symbols. 37 C.F.R. §§2.33(d) and 2.193(c)(1)(iii); TMEP §§304.07 and 804.05.
Applicant should include the following information on regular mail or facsimile correspondence with the Office [not necessary if the correspondence is filed electronically via TEAS]: (1) the name and law office number of the trademark examining attorney; (2) the serial number of this application; (3) the mailing date of this Office action; and, (4) applicant's telephone number. 37 C.F.R. §2.194(b)(1); TMEP §302.03(a). To expedite prosecution of this application, applicant is encouraged to file its response to this Office action through the TEAS, available at <http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html>. If needed, the applicant should call the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC) for help in using TEAS. TAC may be reached at (571) 272-9250 or (800) 786-9199. TAC is open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except on federal holidays.
The following legal authorities govern the processing of trademark and service mark applications by the Office: The Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1051 et seq., the Trademark Rules of Practice, 37 C.F.R. Part 2, and the Office’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) (4th ed., 2005), available on the United States Patent and Trademark Office web site at <http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm>. The TMEP is a detailed guidebook written by the Office to explain the laws and procedures that govern the trademark application, registration and post registration processes. The TMEP is the manual that examining attorneys use when examining applications. Please note that this “Office action” will give references to the TMEP, e.g., TMEP §904.04. The applicant should refer to the cited section of the TMEP for information regarding the specific issue raised.
Applicant May wish to seek Trademark counsel
Applicant may wish to hire a specialist attorney to assist in prosecuting this application because of the technicalities involved. The Office cannot aid in the selection of a trademark attorney. 37 C.F.R. §2.11. Applicant may wish to consult the Yellow Pages for a listing of attorneys specializing in trademark or intellectual property law, or seek guidance from its local Bar Association attorney-referral service.
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
Hines, Regina
/Regina C. Hines/
Law Office 114
571-272-9451
Regina.Hines@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE