To: | American Orthoptic Council, Inc. (csstm@dewittross.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88626870 - CO - 67196.007 |
Sent: | December 28, 2019 03:32:06 PM |
Sent As: | ecom114@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88626870
Mark: CO
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: American Orthoptic Council, Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. 67196.007
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 28, 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.
Statutory Refusal
Educational or other degrees or titles awarded to individuals, and used only as personal titles or degrees, indicate professional qualifications or attainments of the person; however, they do not certify that work or labor relating to the goods or services was performed by someone meeting certain standards or was performed by a member of a union or other organization. TMEP §1306.04.
In the present case, the specimen consists of degrees and titles with a given name followed by the initials CO which serves the function of identifying a degree. The specimen shows the applied-for mark used to identify a degree or title.
Certification Standards
The certification statement should specify all the characteristics or features of the goods and/or services that the mark certifies or is intended to certify. TMEP §1306.03(a). A mark does not have to be limited to certifying a single characteristic or feature. Id. The characteristics or features that the mark certifies or is intended to certify should be explained in reasonable detail. Terms such as “quality,” “mode of manufacture,” or “excellence” should not be used without further explanation because they are too broad and do not accurately reveal what characteristics or features are being certified or intended to be certified. Id.
The following format is suggested:
The certification mark, as used or intended to be used by persons authorized by the certifier, certifies or is intended to certify that the goods and/or services provided have (specify).
To provide the certification statement in the TEAS response form: Answer “yes” to TEAS wizard question #3; under the “Additional Statement(s)” section, check the box next to “Miscellaneous Statement;” and enter the certification statement in the text box below.
Search Statement
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).
Further action awaits response to the above.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
/Raul Cordova/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 114
571-272-9448
Raul.Cordova@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE