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 using the
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form
appears at the end of this 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.
Issue date: September 18, 2019
The examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and determined the following.
DATABASE SEARCH
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
The following wording in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is
indefinite: “activewear.” See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may, for
example, substitute the following identification, if accurate:
In International Class 25; clothing, namely, shirts, pants, jackets, hats, caps being headwear, and activewear, namely, ____(identify the specific items of activewear clothing, e.g., golf shirts, leggings, jogging pants, etc.).
Proper classification of goods and services is a purely administrative matter within the sole discretion of
the USPTO. See In re Faucher Indus. Inc., 107 USPQ2d 1355, 1357 (TTAB 2013) (quoting In re Tee-Pak,
Inc., 164 USPQ 88, 89 (TTAB 1969)).
Applicant’s goods 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 or add goods 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
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).
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.
Applicant is encouraged to telephone the examining attorney, instead of submitting a written response, to expedite the application.
/Nicholas K. D. Altree/
Trademark Examining Attorney
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Law Office 107
571-272-9336
nick.altree@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.