To: | Competitor, LLC (trademarks@bwsmiplaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88594771 - COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE ACADEMY - 16127-003 |
Sent: | December 04, 2019 01:08:10 PM |
Sent As: | ecom106@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 Attachment - 14 Attachment - 15 Attachment - 16 Attachment - 17 Attachment - 18 Attachment - 19 Attachment - 20 Attachment - 21 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88594771
Mark: COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE ACADEMY
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: Competitor, LLC
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Reference/Docket No. 16127-003
Correspondence Email Address: |
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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: December 04, 2019
Applicant is encouraged to call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney below to resolve the issues in this Office action. Although the USPTO will not accept an email as a response to an Office action, an applicant can communicate by phone or email to agree to a proposed amendment to the application that will immediately place the application in condition for publication, registration, or suspension. See 37 C.F.R. §2.62(c); TMEP §707.
Summary of Issues
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).
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE ACADEMY because it is not inherently distinctive. These unregistrable term(s) at best are merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and/or services. See 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1); DuoProSS Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 1251, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1755 (Fed. Cir. 2012); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a).
The services are for physical fitness conditioning classes; physical fitness training services; providing fitness and exercise facilities. The attached evidence defines a competitor as a person who engages in a physical activity or sport. And a performance is defined by a physical act and an academy is an organization who provides specialized guidance on a specific subject matter.
The aforementioned wording is merely descriptive of the services because it informs consumers that applicant provides training services to develop a person into a competitor and to engage in physical competitions. Applicant’s website is also attached and demonstrates that applicant provides such services as well as encourages users to become competitors. And the wording performance academy describes the nature of the services by informing consumers that applicant provides specialized education in physical performance.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE ACADEMY” 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.
Response Guidelines
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.
The term “TMEP” refers to the USPTO’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure, a manual written by USPTO trademark attorneys that explains the laws and procedures applicable to the trademark application, registration, and post-registration processes. The USPTO updates the TMEP periodically to reflect changes in law, policy, and procedure.
An applicant may check the status of or view documents filed in an application or registration using the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system. Enter the application serial number or registration number and click on “Status” or “Documents.”
Please note that informal email communication with the Office is not confidential and will be made part of the public record. TMEP §709.04.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
/Dannean J Hetzel/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 106
dannean.hetzel@uspto.gov
571-272-8858
RESPONSE GUIDANCE