Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

FINAL 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) and/or Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form and/or to ESTTA for an appeal appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

 

Issue date:  January 15, 2020

 

This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on December 18, 2019, in which applicant entered arguments against the partial Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal and responded to the identification of goods requirement.

 

The partial Section 2(d) refusal is withdrawn.  See TMEP §§713.02, 714.04.

 

The requirement to clarify the goods is now made final for the reasons set forth below.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.64(a); TMEP §714.04.

 

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.

 

FINAL Identification of Goods Requirement—Partial Requirement

 

THIS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT APPLIES ONLY TO THE GOODS SPECIFIED THEREIN

 

The applicant was previously required to clarify the nature of the goods identified as follows: guides and grips for use on trailers and truck beds; trailer mounted shields; vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, trailer hitch locks, glides, grips and slides, hitch handles, lifts mounted to trailers; boat trailer accessories, namely, bunk wraps, bunk slide and rollers. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.

 

In response, the applicant has proposed the following wording:

 

International Class 12: Guides and grips for use on trailers and truck beds; trailer mounted shields, namely, rigid shields for mounting to a front end of trailer and ramps for loading and unloading vehicles; dollies for vehicles; vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, glides, grips and slides, hitch handles, lifts mounted to trailers; boat trailer accessories, namely, bunk wraps, bunk slides and rollers for attachment to boat trailers to reduce friction when loading and unloading boats

 

The following wording remains indefinite because the nature of the “guides,” “grips,” “slides,” “bunk wraps,” and “bunk slides” is still unclear: “Guides and grips for use on trailers and truck beds”; “vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, glides, grips and slides”; and “boat trailer accessories, namely, bunk wraps, bunk slides and rollers for attachment to boat trailers to reduce friction when loading and unloading boats.”  It not clear, for instance, whether these goods are in the nature of fitted liners or mechanical devices.

 

Accordingly, the requirement to clarify this wording is now made final. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.

 

Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate: 

 

International Class 12: Guides and grips for use on trailers and truck beds in the nature of fitted liners to assist in loading and unloading vehicles and boats; trailer mounted shields, namely, rigid shields for mounting to a front end of trailer and ramps for loading and unloading vehicles; dollies for vehicles; vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, glides, grips and slides, all in the nature of fitted liners to assist in loading and unloading vehicles and boats, hitch handles, lifts mounted to trailers; boat trailer accessories, namely, bunk wraps and bunk slides in the nature of fitted liners to assist in loading and unloading boats and rollers for attachment to boat trailers to reduce friction when loading and unloading boats

 

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.

 

Response to Partial Final Office Action

 

If applicant does not timely respond within six months of the issue date of this final Office action, the following goods to which the final requirement applies will be deleted from the application by Examiner’s Amendment: 

 

“Guides and grips for use on trailers and truck beds”; “vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, glides, grips and slides”; and “boat trailer accessories, namely, bunk wraps, bunk slides and rollers for attachment to boat trailers to reduce friction when loading and unloading boats.”

 

37 C.F.R. §2.65(a); see 15 U.S.C. §1062(b).

 

In such case, the application will proceed for the following goods only: 

 

International Class 12: trailer mounted shields, namely, rigid shields for mounting to a front end of trailer and ramps for loading and unloading vehicles; dollies for vehicles; vehicle and trailer accessories, namely, hitch handles, lifts mounted to trailers

 

Applicant may respond to this final Office action by providing one or both of the following:

 

(1)        A request for reconsideration that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals; and/or

 

(2)        An appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board with the required filing fees.

 

TMEP §715.01; see 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(1)-(2).

 

How to respond.  Click to file a request for reconsideration of this final Office action that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals and/or click to file a timely appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) with the required filing fee(s).

 

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.  

 

 

 

/April A. Hesik/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

(571) 272-4735

april.hesik@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 January 15, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88597582

 

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. 

 

 

/April A. Hesik/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

(571) 272-4735

april.hesik@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 January 15, 2020, 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.”