To: | David (David.Marino58@gmail.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88657042 - TRIPLE PLAY NETTING - N/A |
Sent: | January 23, 2020 12:13:42 PM |
Sent As: | ecom109@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88657042
Mark: TRIPLE PLAY NETTING
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Correspondence Address:
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Applicant: David
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
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 23, 2020
Search Results
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).
However, the applicant must respond to the following issues.
Disclaimer Required
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording NETTING 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).
This term describes a feature or purpose of the goods, as evidenced by the identification of goods, which consists of “Apparatus used for gathering and releasing balls from Apparatus used for gathering and releasing balls from netting systems more effectively systems more effectively ”.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “NETTING” 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.
Applicant’s Name and Entity Designation
The applicant must clarify its name and entity designation for the record. The applicant appears to be a partnership. If so, applicant must identify the name of the partnership and specify the state or country under whose laws the partnership is organized. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(ii); TMEP §803.03(b). In addition, U.S. partnerships must also list the names, legal entities and national citizenship (for individuals) or the U.S. state or foreign country of organization or incorporation (for businesses) of all general partners. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(iii); TMEP §§803.03(b), 803.04.
If applicant is a U.S. partnership, the application must be amended to identify the partnership in the following format:
“____ [provide name of partnership], a partnership organized under the laws of California, composed of Lawrence N. Snyder, a U.S. citizen and David James Marino, a U.S. citizen.”
37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(ii)-(iii); TMEP §§803.03(b), 803.04.
Identification and Classification of Goods
The applicant must clarify the identification of goods, as the nature of the goods that are being provided is unclear. See TMEP §1402.01. The applicant must provide the common commercial name for the goods or specify the nature of the goods. The proper classification of the goods will depend on the type of goods that are being provided. The applicant may adopt the following wording, if accurate:
“Apparatus used for gathering and releasing balls from netting systems more effectively, namely, __ [provide common commercial name for goods or specify nature of goods, e.g., golf ball retrievers, tennis ball retrievers, hand held tools for retrieving soccer balls from netting, consisting of a telescoping adjustable pole and rotating discs],” in International Class 28.
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.
Additional Information Required
Factual information about the goods must clearly indicate how they operate, their salient features, and their prospective customers and channels of trade.
Failure to comply with a request for information is grounds for refusing registration. In re Harley, 119 USPQ2d 1755, 1757-58 (TTAB 2016); TMEP §814. Merely stating that information about the goods and services is available on applicant’s website is an insufficient response and will not make the relevant information of record. See In re Planalytics, Inc., 70 USPQ2d 1453, 1457-58 (TTAB 2004).
Information for TEAS RF Applicants
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.
If the applicant has any questions or requires assistance in responding to this Office action, please contact the undersigned examining attorney.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
/Amy Alfieri/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 109
571-272-9422
amy.alfieri@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE