To: | BROWN, KEVIN (mrkevbrown@gmail.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88678158 - FISHIN CREW HOUSTON - N/A |
Sent: | November 26, 2019 11:31:23 PM |
Sent As: | ecom110@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88678158
Mark: FISHIN CREW HOUSTON
|
|
Correspondence Address:
|
|
Applicant: BROWN, KEVIN
|
|
Reference/Docket No. N/A
Correspondence Email Address: |
|
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: November 26, 2019
The assigned examining attorney has reviewed the referenced application and determined the following.
Summary of Issues That Must Be Addressed
• Disclaimer
• New Color Claim Required
• New Description of the Mark Required
The examining attorney has searched the Office records and has found no similar registered or pending mark which would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d). TMEP §704.02.
Applicant must provide a disclaimer of the unregistrable part(s) of the applied-for mark even though the mark as a whole appears to be registrable. See 15 U.S.C. §1056(a); TMEP §§1213, 1213.03(a). A disclaimer of an unregistrable part of a mark will not affect the mark’s appearance. See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d 978, 979-80, 144 USPQ 433, 433 (C.C.P.A. 1965).
In this case, applicant must disclaim the wording “Fishing” and “Houston” 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 services, specifically, that the services are aimed at people who go fishing in the Houston, Texas area. 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 may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “Fishing” and “Houston” apart from the mark as shown.
NOTE: The disclaimer is for the term “Fishing” and not “Fishin”.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
The following color claim is suggested, if accurate: “The colors blue, white, gray and red are claimed as a feature of the mark.” TMEP §807.07(a)(i).
New Description of the Mark Required
Applicant must submit an amended description of the mark because the current one is incomplete and does not describe all the significant aspects of the mark. 37 C.F.R. §2.37; see TMEP §§808.01, 808.02. Descriptions must be accurate and identify all the literal and design elements in the mark. See 37 C.F.R. §2.37; TMEP §§808 et seq.
The following description is suggested, if accurate: The mark consists of the words, “Fishin” in blue and white; “Crew” in blue and white and “Houston” in red and gray. A blue fisherman stands in between the “H” and the “N” and is holding a blue rod with the image of a blue and white fish to his right. The term “Fishin” is underlined and extends to the left with a blue hook and red feather underneath the “C”. A gray fishing rod appears above “Houston” with the spinning reel replacing the “O” in Houston.
The applicant may wish to hire a trademark attorney because of the technicalities involved in the application. The Patent and Trademark Office cannot aid in the selection of an attorney. 37 C.F.R. §2.11.
If the applicant has any questions or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned examining attorney.
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.
/Giancarlo Castro/
Giancarlo Castro
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 110
giancarlo.castro@uspto.gov
571-272-9357
RESPONSE GUIDANCE