To: | Safeway Inc. (gigi.remington@safeway.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88611702 - SINTONS - N/A - Request for Reconsideration Denied - No Appeal Filed |
Sent: | March 22, 2020 08:06:20 PM |
Sent As: | ecom107@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 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88611702
Mark: SINTONS
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: Safeway Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
Correspondence Email Address: |
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REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
AFTER FINAL ACTION
DENIED
Issue date: March 22, 2020
Applicant has introduced into the record evidence of geographic significance of Sinton, which is a city in Texas, as well as having some geographical significance in Europe. Applicant also argues that the surname SINTON is rare.
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and found unpersuasive for the reason(s) set forth below.
Despite the alleged rareness, the term SINTON has consistently been treated as a surname by the Office in recent years, as shown by the attached third-party registrations on the Supplemental Register or registered under Section 2(f). As all five marks with the term SINTON in them have been required to register under Section 2(f) or been placed on the Supplemental Register, and the term appears to be known as the surname of two brothers named Sinton who started a dairy over 100 years ago, its primary significance in this context is as a surname, which requires a showing of acquired distinctiveness to be registered on the Principal Register.
Applicant claims that there is no person connected with it that uses “SINTON” as a surname and argues this proves the term has no surname significance. However, the fact that “a proposed mark is not applicant’s surname, or the surname of an officer or employee, does not tend to establish one way or the other whether the proposed mark would be perceived as a surname.” In re Thermo LabSystems Inc., 85 USPQ2d 1285, 1287 (TTAB 2007) (quoting In re Gregory, 70 USPQ2d 1792, 1795 (TTAB 2004)); see In re Adlon Brand GmbH & Co. KG, 120 USPQ2d 1717, 1724 (TTAB 2016). In a surname analysis, the absence of a person connected with applicant that has this term as a surname is a neutral factor. In re Thermo LabSystems Inc., 85 USPQ2d at 1287.
In weighing all the evidence of record, the primary significance of SINTON is as a famous and long-used surname in the dairy business, and presentation of a surname in its plural or possessive form does not diminish its surname significance. TMEP §1211.01(b)(v); see, e.g., In re Bed & Bars Ltd., 122 USPQ2d 1546, 1551 (TTAB 2017); In re Binion, 93 USPQ2d 1531, 1537 (TTAB 2009).
Accordingly, the following refusal made final in the Office action dated March 13, 2020 is maintained and continued:
• Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is primarily merely a surname. Trademark Act Section 2(e)(4), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(4); see TMEP §1211.
See TMEP §§715.03(a)(ii)(B), 715.04(a).
If applicant has already filed an appeal with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Board will be notified to resume the appeal. See TMEP §715.04(a).
If applicant has not filed an appeal and time remains in the six-month response period, applicant has the remainder of that time to (1) file another request for reconsideration that complies with and/or overcomes any outstanding final requirement(s) and/or refusal(s), and/or (2) file a notice of appeal to the Board. TMEP §715.03(a)(ii)(B). Filing a request for reconsideration does not stay or extend the time for filing an appeal. 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b)(3); see TMEP §715.03(c).
/Michael Engel/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 107
Michael.Engel@uspto.gov
(571) 272-9338