To: | Scout Exchange LLC (docketingpatentboston@proskauer.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88642886 - SCOUT - SCT-601B |
Sent: | January 13, 2020 04:45:26 PM |
Sent As: | ecom106@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88642886
Mark: SCOUT
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Correspondence Address:
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Applicant: Scout Exchange LLC
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Reference/Docket No. SCT-601B
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 13, 2020
APPLICATION STATUS
SEARCH FOR CONFLICTING 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).
REFUSAL UNDER SECTION 2(e)(1): APPLIED-FOR MARK IS MERELY DESCRIPTIVE
The applicant has applied to register the mark “SCOUT” for “Providing managed services and business support services to companies and workforce providers in the fields of employee recruiting, temporary staffing, and workforce provider management, to enable recruiters to provide candidates, enable employers to hire candidates, and ensure efficient and proactive management of client and provider workforces” in International Class 35.
The attached evidence shows the word “SCOUT” is commonly used in the field of employment, which is defined in part by the attached definition from http://www.lexico.com/en/definition/scout as “look for suitably talented people for recruitment to one's own organization”.
For example, the attached excerpt from the article http://www.businesssherpagroup.com/recruiting-vs-scouting-whats-the-difference/ explains the difference between the terms “recruiting” and “scouting” in the field of hiring. Specifically, “recruiting” is defined as “to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc. OR to persuade (someone) to join you in some activity “scouting” (verb) – to explore in order to obtain information OR to find by making a search”.
Therefore, the mark “SCOUT”, as applied to the identified services, merely describes the purpose of the applicant’s services. Specifically, as evidenced by the applicant’s specimens of use and the attached excerpt from the article http://techcrunch.com/2017/02/21/scout-recruiting/2017/02/21/scout-recruiting/ , the applicant provides a variety of services to employers, job candidates and search firms with the goal of pairing employers with potential employees.
Accordingly, the proposed mark “SCOUT” is merely descriptive, and registration is refused on the Principal Register under Section 2(e)(1).
ASSISTANCE
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.
/Julie M. Guttadauro/
Julie M. Guttadauro
Examining Attorney
Law Office 106
(571) 272-5875
julie.guttadauro@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE