To: | The Absolut Company Aktiebolag (trademarkdocketing@arnoldporter.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88642862 - ÅHUS AKVAVIT CARAWAY, FENNEL, - 1100502.tbd |
Sent: | December 14, 2019 10:52:22 AM |
Sent As: | ecom105@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88642862
Mark: ÅHUS AKVAVIT CARAWAY, FENNEL,
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: The Absolut Company Aktiebolag
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Reference/Docket No. 1100502.tbd
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 14, 2019
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).
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “AHUS, AKAVIT, CARAWAY, FENNEL, ROSEMARY, LEMON, SEVILLE ORANGE LEMON PEELS, BUILT 1906, 10/07/17, SWEDISH, DISTILLERY, and SINCE 1906” 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).
The wording 1) AHUS is a locality in Sweden and therefore is geographically descriptive of the applicant’s location 2) AKAVIT is a “clear Scandinavian liquor flavored with caraway seeds” and is the generic term for the applicant’s goods and therefore describes what the goods actually are 3) CARAWAY, FENNEL, ROSEMARY, LEMON, SEVILLE ORANGE LEMON PEELS are herbs and fruit and therefore describe the ingredients in the applicant’s liquor 4) BUILT 1906 is informational wording and tell the consumer when the applicants business was built 5) 10/07/17 describes the age or vintage of the applicants product 6) SWEDISH is relating to Sweden, describes the origin of the applicants goods 7) DISTILLERY is “a place or establishment where distilling, especially the distilling of liquors, is done” and therefore describes where the goods are made and 8)SINCE 1906 is informational wording that describes the date of origin. Please see the attached definitions of Ahus, Akavit, Caraway, Fennel, Rosemary, Seville Orange, Swedish, and Distillery.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “AHUS, AKAVIT, CARAWAY, FENNEL, ROSEMARY, LEMON, SEVILLE ORANGE LEMON PEELS, BUILT 1906, 10/07/17, SWEDISH, DISTILLERY, and SINCE 1906” 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.
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.
Lewis, Lakeisha M.
/Lakeisha S. Munn Lewis/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 105
(571)272-1910
Lakeisha.Lewis@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE