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.
Issue date: October 15, 2019
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.
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 OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF 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
The identification of goods in International Class 11 is indefinite and must be clarified because it does not
sufficiently identify the nature of applicant’s food and/or beverage cases and cabinets as well as its “related goods,” and includes goods in more than one international class. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate: Heated self-service food and beverage cases used by supermarkets and convenience stores to store and display food and beverage products and structural parts
and fittings therefor, display carts, and heated and/or refrigerated bakery display cases; self-service cases,
display carts, and bakery display cases used by convenience stores to heat, store and display food and beverage products; cases, cabinets, display
carts, and bakery display cases used to control temperature for heating food and beverages; temperature controlled, heated display cases, display carts, and
bakery display cases for the heating, storage and delivery of food and beverage products; hot food and beverage cases, display carts, and bakery display cases; heated and/or refrigerated food display cases, display carts, and bakery display cases; and related goods, namely, {indicate specific
related goods}, in International Class 11; display carts, in International Class 12.
The identification of goods in International Class 16 is indefinite and must be clarified because it does not
sufficiently identify the nature of applicant’s packaging and “related goods,” and includes goods in more than one international class. See 37 C.F.R.
§2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate: Packaging and containers comprised of paperboard, paper, paper trays, wax paper, plastic, and plastic films, and the
like for food and beverages; food and drink package combinations with packaging and containers containing food and drink; and related goods,
namely, {indicate specific related goods}, in International Class 16; plastic packaging containers for food and beverages, in International Class 20; food and drink package combinations with
packaging and containers containing food and drink consisting primarily of cheese, meat and/or processed fruit, in International Class 29; food and drink package combinations
with packaging and containers containing food and drink consisting primarily of bread, crackers and/or cookies, in International Class 30.
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.
MULTIPLE-CLASS APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
The application identifies goods in more than one international class; therefore, applicant must satisfy
all the requirements below for each international class based on Trademark Act Section 1(b):
(1) List the goods
and/or services by their international class number in consecutive numerical order, starting with the lowest numbered class.
(2) Submit a filing
fee for each international class not covered by the fee(s) already paid (view the USPTO’s current fee schedule). The application identifies goods that are classified in at least
six classes; however, applicant submitted fees sufficient for only two classes. Applicant must either submit the filing fees for the classes not covered by the
submitted fees or restrict the application to the number of classes covered by the fees already paid.
See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(6)-(7), 2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).
See an overview of the requirements for a Section 1(b) multiple-class application and how to satisfy the requirements online using the
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form.
RESPONSE TO OFFICE ACTION
Please call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney with questions about this Office
action. Although the trademark examining attorney cannot provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights, the trademark examining attorney can provide
applicant with additional explanation about the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action. See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06. Although the USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions, emails can be used for informal communications and will be included in the application
record. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action
/Barney L. Charlon/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 104
(571) 272-9141
(571) 272-9104 (fax)
barney.charlon@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.