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 10, 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 for Conflicting Marks

 

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).

 

Identification of Goods and/or Services Amendment Partial Requirement

THIS REQUIREMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THE SPECIFIED GOODS

 

The USPTO has the discretion to determine the degree of particularity needed to clearly identify goods and/or services covered by a mark.  In re Fiat Grp. Mktg. & Corp. Commc’ns S.p.A, 109 USPQ2d 1593, 1597 (TTAB 2014) (citing In re Omega SA, 494 F.3d 1362, 1365, 83 USPQ2d 1541, 1543-44 (Fed. Cir. 2007)).  Accordingly, the USPTO requires the description of goods and/or services in a U.S. application to be specific, definite, clear, accurate, and concise.  TMEP §1402.01; see In re Fiat Grp. Mktg. & Corp. Commc’ns S.p.A, 109 USPQ2d at 1597-98; Cal. Spray-Chem. Corp. v. Osmose Wood Pres. Co. of Am., 102 USPQ 321, 322 (Comm’r Pats. 1954). 

 

Here, the wording specified below in the identification of goods and/or services must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods and/or services in other international classes.  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.

 

For the applicant’s convenience, the Examining Attorney has highlighted suggested amendments and problem areas in bold type below. The applicant may adopt following wording, if accurate, because it is sufficiently definite and properly classified:

 

“Postharvest chemicals, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “agricultural chemicals, except fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and parasiticides”}, postharvest agricultural chemicals, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “agricultural chemicals, except fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and parasiticides”}, mildew proofing agents, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “wetting agents”}, seed preserving substances, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “microbial inoculants for application to seeds used in agriculture”}, plant growth regulating preparations {insert comma here}, plant rearing preparations, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “plant growth regulation preparations”}, soil improving agents, chemical preparations to prevent mildew, horticultural chemicals, except fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and parasiticides, chemical preparations to prevent diseases affecting cereal plants, soil conditioning preparations, agricultural chemicals, except fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and parasiticides, chemical preparations to prevent diseases affecting vine plants, chemical preparations to prevent wheat blight, chemical preparations to prevent wheat smut, biological preparations, other than for medical or veterinary purposes, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “biological preparation for use in cell cultures other than for medical or veterinary use”}, bacteriological preparations, other than for medical and veterinary use, bacterial preparations, other than for medical and veterinary use, preparations of microorganisms, other than for medical and veterinary use, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “biological preparation for use in cell cultures other than for medical or veterinary use”}, cultures of microorganisms, other than for medical and veterinary use,” in International Class 1;

 

“Pharmaceutical preparations, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “pharmaceutical preparation for skin care”}, biocides; fungicides; pesticides; postharvest pharmaceutical preparations, namely, {specify by common commercial name, e.g., “pharmaceutical preparation for skin care”}, postharvest biocides; postharvest fungicides; postharvest pesticides,” in International Class 5.

 

See TMEP §1402.01.

 

Applicant’s goods and/or services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different goods and/or services or add goods and/or services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b).  The scope of the goods and/or services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification.  TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b).  Any acceptable changes to the goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted.  TMEP §1402.07(e).

 

For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and services in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual.  See TMEP §1402.04.

 

Partial Abandonment Advisory

 

If applicant does not respond to this Office action within the six-month period for response, the indefinite goods and/or services in International Class(es) 1 and 5 will be deleted from the application.  The application will then proceed with the remaining goods and/or services in International Class(es) 1 and 5 only.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.65(a)-(a)(1); TMEP §718.02(a).

 

Assistance

 

If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney.  All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.191; TMEP §§709.04-.05.  Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.

 

 

 

 

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  

 

 

Jimmy Stein

/jws/

Jimmy Stein

Examining Attorney

United States Patent and Trademark Office

james.stein@uspto.gov

571-272-3056

 

 

 

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 10, 2019 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88530901

 

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. 

 

 

Jimmy Stein

/jws/

Jimmy Stein

Examining Attorney

United States Patent and Trademark Office

james.stein@uspto.gov

571-272-3056

 

 

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 10, 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.”