Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application

 

 

 

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:  April 08, 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.

 

SUMMARY OF ISSUES:

• Disclaimer Required
• Identification of Goods and Services

 

 

 

SEARCH RESULTS

 

The trademark examining attorney searched the USPTO database of registered and pending marks and found no conflicting marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d).  15 U.S.C. §1052(d); TMEP §704.02.

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER REQUIRED

 

Applicant must disclaim “DYNAMIC FOCAL INTEGRATION” because it is 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 attached evidence from American Heritage Dictionary shows that “dynamic” means “characterized by continuous change,” “focal” means “of or relating to focus,” and “integration” refers to the act of joining together. Additionally, the attached evidence from applicant’s website shows that applicant develops lenses that change focus.  Thus, the wording merely describes applicant’s goods and/or services because the goods applicant develops includes lenses that change focus.

 

Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format: 

 

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “DYNAMIC FOCAL INTEGRATION” apart from the mark as shown. 

 

For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to provide one using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage. 

 

 

 

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

 

The identification of goods and services must be amended because some of the wording is indefinite and/or overly broad.

 

The wording “optical goods, apparatus and instruments” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the nature of the goods is unclear.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  “optical glasses.”

 

The wording “corrective lenses” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because the type of lenses is unclear.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  “corrective contact lenses.”

 

The wording “virtual reality hardware” “augmented reality hardware” in the identification of goods and services is indefinite and must be clarified because the type of hardware provided is unclear.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  “virtual reality computer hardware; augmented reality computer hardware.”

 

The identification for “virtual reality software; augmented reality software” in International Class 9 is indefinite and too broad and must be clarified to specify (1) the purpose or function of the software and its content or field of use, if content- or field- specific; and (2) whether its format is downloadable, recorded, or online non-downloadable.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §§1402.03(d), 1402.11(a).  Downloadable and recorded goods are in International Class 9, whereas providing their temporary, online non-downloadable use is a service in International Class 42.  See TMEP §1402.03(d).   

 

The USPTO requires such specificity in order for a trademark examining attorney to examine the application properly and make appropriate decisions concerning possible conflicts between the applicant’s mark and other marks.  See In re N.A.D. Inc., 57 USPQ2d 1872, 1874 (TTAB 2000); TMEP §1402.03(d).

 

Applicant may adopt the following wording, if accurate:  Downloadable virtual reality software for {indicate the function of the software, e.g., playing computer games, pilot training, medical teaching, etc.}; Downloadable augmented reality software for {indicate the function of the software, e.g., playing computer games, pilot training, medical teaching, etc.}.

 

The wording “research, design and development services relating to adaptive focus lens technologies” in the identification of services is indefinite and must be clarified because the matter that these services research, develop, and design is unclear.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate:  Research and development of technology in the field of adaptive focus lenses; Design of optical components, namely, adaptive focus lenses.

 

To address the issues discussed above, applicant may adopt any or all of the following identification of goods, if accurate.  Suggested changes are indicated in bold, strikethrough, and underlined fonts.

 

International Class 9:              Optical goods, apparatus and instruments glasses; eyewear; adjustable optical power eyewear; eyeglasses; adjustable optical power eyeglasses; eyeglass frames; eyeglass lenses; corrective contact lenses; adjustable optical power lenses; eyeglasses having filtering lenses; eyeglass cases, containers and holders; eyeglass chains, cords and retaining straps; sunglasses; tinted eyeglasses; sunglasses having adjustable optical power lenses; reading glasses; reading glasses with adjustable optical power lenses; virtual reality smart glasses; augmented reality smart glasses; virtual reality headsets; augmented reality headsets; virtual reality computer hardware; augmented reality computer hardware; virtual reality software Downloadable virtual reality software for {indicate the function of the software, e.g., playing computer games, pilot training, medical teaching, etc.}; augmented reality software Downloadable augmented reality software for {indicate the function of the software, e.g., playing computer games, pilot training, medical teaching, etc.}; parts and fittings for all the aforesaid goods.

 

International Class 42:            Design and development of virtual reality computer hardware; design and development of augmented reality computer hardware; design and development of virtual reality software; design and development of augmented reality software; research, design and development services relating to adaptive focus lens technologies Research and development of technology in the field of adaptive focus lenses; Design of optical components, namely, adaptive focus lenses; information, advisory and consultancy services relating to all the aforesaid services.

 

 

Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but not to broaden or expand the goods and/or services beyond those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Generally, any deleted goods and/or services may not later be reinserted.  See TMEP §1402.07(e).

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Responding to this Office action

 

Response guidelines.  For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement in this Office action.  For a refusal, applicant may provide written arguments and evidence against the refusal, and may have other response options if specified above.  For a requirement, applicant should set forth the changes or statements.  Please see “Responding to Office Actions” and the informational video “Response to Office Action” for more information and tips on responding.

 

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How to respond.  Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.    

 

 

/April Reeves/

April E. Reeves

Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

(571) 272-3681

april.reeves@uspto.gov

 

 

RESPONSE GUIDANCE

• Missing the response deadline to this letter will cause the application to abandon.  A response or notice of appeal must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  TEAS and ESTTA maintenance or unforeseen circumstances could affect an applicant’s ability to timely respond.  

 

• Responses signed by an unauthorized party are not accepted and can cause the application to abandon.  If applicant does not have an attorney, the response must be signed by the individual applicant, all joint applicants, or someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant.  If applicant has an attorney, the response must be signed by the attorney.

 

• If needed, find contact information for the supervisor of the office or unit listed in the signature block.

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on April 08, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88752689

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter that you must respond to by the specified deadline or your application will be abandoned.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.

 

(2)  Direct questions about the contents of the Office action to the assigned attorney below. 

 

 

/April Reeves/

April E. Reeves

Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

(571) 272-3681

april.reeves@uspto.gov

 

Direct questions about navigating USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and/or whether there are outstanding deadlines or documents related to your file to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

(3)  Respond within 6 months (or earlier, if required in the Office action) from April 08, 2020, using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  The response must be received by the USPTO before midnight Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  See the Office action for more information about how to respond

 

 

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

·       Check the status of your application periodically in the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) database to avoid missing critical deadlines.

 

·       Update your correspondence email address, if needed, to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·       Beware of misleading notices sent by private companies about your application.  Private companies not associated with the USPTO use public information available in trademark registrations to mail and email trademark-related offers and notices – most of which require fees.  All official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”