Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application

 

 

 

NONFINAL 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).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

Issue date:  October 11, 2019

 

Applicant is encouraged to email the trademark examining attorney at eli.hellman@uspto.gov to resolve the issues raised below.  If the suggestions listed below are acceptable, then the examiner will issue an examiner’s amendment and approve the application for publication.

 

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.

 

No Similar Marks to Bar Registration

 

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).

 

1. Clarification of the Recitation of Services

 

REQUIREMENT LIMITED TO THE SERVICES SPECIFIED HEREIN

 

The identification for education services is indefinite because it does not indicate the type of educational service provided.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  For example, applicant could be providing seminars on a particular topic, analyzing educational test scores and data for others, or providing educational testing. 

 

Applicant must specify the nature of the educational service being provided. 

 

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:

 

International Class 041:       Educational services, namely, conducting seminars, training, and educational instruction in the fields of leasing and marketing in the fields of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry and distribution of training materials in connection therewith; Educational services, namely, conducting seminars, training, and educational instruction in the fields of leasing and marketing in the field of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry; Educational services, namely, conducting seminars, training, and educational instructional in the fields of leasing and marketing in the field of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry and distribution of educational materials in connection therewith

 

An applicant may only amend an identification to clarify or limit the services, but not to add to or broaden the scope of the services.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07.

 

Failure to Respond Will Result in the Abandonment of Particular Services

 

If applicant does not respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, the following services in International Class 041 will be deleted from the application:  education. 

 

The application will then proceed with the following services in International Class 041 only: Educational services, namely, conducting seminars and training in the fields of leasing and marketing in the fields of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry and distribution of training materials in connection therewith; Educational services, namely, conducting seminars,  and training in the fields of leasing and marketing in the field of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry; Educational services, namely, conducting seminars and training in the fields of leasing and marketing in the field of leasing and marketing in the rental housing industry and distribution of educational materials in connection therewith.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)-(a)(1); TMEP §718.02(a).

 

RESPONDING TO THIS OFFICE ACTION

 

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 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  

 

 

/Eli J. Hellman/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

United States Patent and Trademark Office

571.272.8276

eli.hellman@uspto.gov

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon.  A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon.  If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant.  If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

 

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on October 11, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88527709

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter that you must respond to by the specified deadline or your application will be abandoned.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.

 

(2)  Direct questions about the contents of the Office action to the assigned attorney below. 

 

 

/Eli J. Hellman/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 102

United States Patent and Trademark Office

571.272.8276

eli.hellman@uspto.gov

 

Direct questions about navigating USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and/or whether there are outstanding deadlines or documents related to your file to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

(3)  Respond within 6 months (or earlier, if required in the Office action) from October 11, 2019, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  See the Office action for more information about how to respond.

 

 

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

·       Check the status of your application periodically in the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database to avoid missing critical deadlines.

 

·       Update your correspondence email address, if needed, to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·       Beware of misleading notices sent by private companies about your application.  Private companies not associated with the USPTO use public information available in trademark registrations to mail and email trademark-related offers and notices – most of which require fees.  All official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”