To: | Lam Research Corporation (duy@duythai.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88788065 - ICEFILL - N/A |
Sent: | August 10, 2020 12:44:33 PM |
Sent As: | ecom105@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88788065
Mark: ICEFILL
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: Lam Research Corporation
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
Correspondence Email Address: |
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FINAL 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) and/or Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA). A link to the appropriate TEAS response form and/or to ESTTA for an appeal appears at the end of this Office action.
Issue date: August 10, 2020
This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on July 13, 2020.
In a previous Office action dated April 25, 2020, the trademark examining attorney refused registration of the applied-for mark based on Trademark Act Section 2(d) for a likelihood of confusion with a registered mark and Sections 1 and 45 for failure to show the applied-for mark in use in commerce with any of the specified goods.
Based on applicant’s response, the Section 2(d) refusal has been withdrawn. See TMEP §§713.02, 714.04.
The trademark examining attorney maintains and now makes FINAL the refusal in the summary of issues below. See 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b); TMEP §714.04.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES MADE FINAL that applicant must address:
SECTIONS 1 AND 45 REFUSAL - FAILURE TO SHOW USE IN COMMERCE
Material used by an applicant only to conduct its internal business is not an acceptable specimen for goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.56(a); In re Chi. Rawhide Mfg. Co., 455 F.2d 563, 565, 173 USPQ 8, 9 (C.C.P.A. 1972); In re Bright of Am., Inc., 205 USPQ 63, 71 (TTAB 1979); TMEP §904.04(b). “These materials include all documents whose sole function is to carry out the applicant’s business dealings, such as invoices, bill heads, waybills, warranties, and business stationery.” TMEP §904.04(b); see e.g., In re Chi. Rawhide Mfg. Co., 455 F.2d at 565, 173 USPQ at 9; In re Bright of Am., Inc., 205 USPQ at 65.
Response options for overcoming that refusal were set forth in the prior Office action. Applicant, however, responded to such refusal by submitting arguments that are not persuasive for the reasons immediately stated below.
Thus, the refusal to register the applied-for mark in International Class 7 is now made final because applicant failed to provide evidence of use of the mark in commerce. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a), 2.63(b); TMEP §§904, 904.07, 1301.04(g)(i).
Specifically, applicant argues that the specimen of record is an “installation manual” that accompanies the goods for customers’ “internal use.” However, the specimen indicates that the document is an installation “procedure,” rather than a “manual.” Further, the form includes lines for indicating the “Job Identification” with a sales order number to which an “Installation Manger” is assigned. Thus, it appears to be an installation procedure intended to be used by applicant’s installation managers, rather than a manual provided to customers for installing the goods themselves. Lastly, the term “internal” when used on documents traditionally refers to internal use by the company that created the document. Thus, the more reasonable interpretation is that the document is for applicant’s internal use, rather than applicant’s customers’ internal use.
Lastly, the specimen does not appear to show the mark in the drawing in use in commerce in International Class 7. Trademark Act Sections 1 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051, 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a), 1301.04(g)(i). The mark appearing on the specimen and in the drawing must match; that is, the mark in the drawing “must be a substantially exact representation of the mark” on the specimen. See 37 C.F.R. §2.51(a)-(b); TMEP §807.12(a).
In this case, the specimen displays the mark as “ALTUS ICEFILL MAX G”. However, the drawing displays the mark as just “ICEFILL”. The mark on the specimen and in the drawing do not match because the mark on the drawing is only a portion of the mark appearing on the specimen. The applied-for mark “ICEFILL” is never used on its own; it only appears embedded in a phrase with the additional wording “ALTUS” and “MAX G,” which do not appear to be generic or merely informational terms.
A portion of a mark may be registered only “if that portion presents a separate and distinct commercial impression.” In re Lorillard Licensing Co., 99 USPQ2d 1312, 1316 (TTAB 2011) (citing In re 1175854 Ontario Ltd., 81 USPQ2d 1446, 1448 (TTAB 2006)). In this case, the drawing shows only a nonseparable part of the mark appearing on the specimen. See In re Chem. Dynamics Inc., 839 F.2d 1569, 1571, 5 USPQ2d 1828, 1829-30 (Fed. Cir. 1988); In re Guitar Straps Online LLC, 103 USPQ2d 1745, 1751 (TTAB 2012); TMEP §807.12(a), (d). Applicant has thus failed to provide the required evidence of use of the mark in commerce. See TMEP §807.12(a).
An application based on Trademark Act Section 1(a) must include a specimen showing the applied-for mark as actually used in commerce for each international class of goods identified in the application. 15 U.S.C. §1051(a)(1); 37 C.F.R. §§2.34(a)(1)(iv), 2.56(a); TMEP §§904, 904.07(a).
Response options. Applicant may respond to this refusal by satisfying one of the following for each applicable international class:
(1) Submit a different specimen (a verified “substitute” specimen) that (a) was in actual use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application or prior to the filing of an amendment to allege use and (b) shows the mark in actual use in commerce for the goods identified in the application or amendment to allege use. A “verified substitute specimen” is a specimen that is accompanied by the following statement made in a signed affidavit or supported by a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20: “The substitute (or new, or originally submitted, if appropriate) specimen(s) was/were in use in commerce at least as early as the filing date of the application or prior to the filing of the amendment to allege use.” The substitute specimen cannot be accepted without this statement.
(2) Amend the filing basis to intent to use under Section 1(b) (which includes withdrawing an amendment to allege use, if one was filed), as no specimen is required before publication. This option will later necessitate additional fee(s) and filing requirements, including a specimen.
For an overview of the response options referenced above and instructions on how to satisfy these options using the online Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, see the Specimen webpage.
ASSISTANCE
The USPTO does not accept emails as responses to Office actions; however, emails can be used for informal communications and are included in the application record. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(c), 2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05.
How to respond. Click to file a request for reconsideration of this final Office action that fully resolves all outstanding requirements and refusals and/or click to file a timely appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) with the required filing fee(s).
/Monica L. Beggs/
Examining Attorney
Law Office 105
(571) 272-6614
monica.beggs@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE