To: | Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc. (officeactions@brinksgilson.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88633666 - OPEN KITCHEN - 16005-2009 |
Sent: | January 06, 2020 07:00:07 AM |
Sent As: | ecom101@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88633666
Mark: OPEN KITCHEN
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Correspondence Address:
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Applicant: Powerhouse Dynamics, Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. 16005-2009
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: January 06, 2020
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.
DISCLAIMER
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “KITCHEN” 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).
Applicant’s goods and services are used to connect, operate, monitor and manage networked equipment, namely, kitchen appliances. Thus, the wording merely describes a characteristic of applicant’s goods and/or services.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “KITCHEN” 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.
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS & RECITATION OF SERVICES
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.
The following wording in bold print in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because it does not put consumers on notice as to the nature of the goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01. Applicant must amend this wording to specify the common commercial or generic name of the goods. See TMEP §1402.01. If the goods have no common commercial or generic name, applicant must describe the product, its main purpose, and its intended uses. See id.
Class 9
downloadable computer firmware for the automation of food service and food retail organizations to connect, operate, monitor and manage networked equipment, namely, kitchen appliances, cooking equipment, food preparation equipment, food warming equipment, dish washers, dish sanitizers, HVAC units, ventilation hoods, range hoods, refrigerators, freezers, hot water equipment, lighting and signage via the Internet of Things (IOT); computer hardware; locally installed hardware components; downloadable computer firmware, namely, temperature sensors, other sensors, controllers, gateways, and other networking devices for the automation of food service and food retail organizations to connect, operate, monitor and manage networked equipment, namely, kitchen appliances, cooking equipment, food preparation equipment, food warming equipment, dish washers, dish sanitizers, HVAC units, ventilation hoods, range hoods, refrigerators, freezers, hot water equipment, lighting and signage and for the collection and management of data
The following is acceptable:
downloadable computer firmware for the automation of food service and food retail organizations to connect, operate, monitor and manage networked equipment, namely, kitchen appliances, cooking equipment, food preparation equipment, food warming equipment, dish washers, dish sanitizers, HVAC units, ventilation hoods, range hoods, refrigerators, freezers, hot water equipment, lighting and signage via the Internet of Things (IOT); computer hardware; locally installed hardware components; downloadable computer firmware for the automation of food service and food retail organizations to connect, operate, monitor and manage networked equipment, namely, kitchen appliances, cooking equipment, food preparation equipment, food warming equipment, dish washers, dish sanitizers, HVAC units, ventilation hoods, range hoods, refrigerators, freezers, hot water equipment, lighting and signage and for the collection and management of data; temperature sensors; electrical controllers; gateway routers in the nature of computer control hardware; computer network interface devices
SEARCH OF OFFICE’S DATABASE OF MARKS
In response to this Office action, applicant may present arguments in support of registration by addressing the issue of the potential conflict between applicant’s mark and the mark in the referenced application. Applicant’s election not to submit arguments at this time in no way limits applicant’s right to address this issue later if a refusal under Section 2(d) issues.
If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney. All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05. Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights. See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.
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.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
/Robert Clark/
Robert Clark
Examining Attorney
Law Office 101
571-272-9144
Robert.Clark@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE