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:  June 17, 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.

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS

 

The entirety of the identification of goods is indefinite as specified further below and must be clarified.  See TMEP §1402.01.  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 at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html.  See TMEP §1402.04.

 

An applicant may only amend an identification to clarify or limit the goods or services, but not to add to or broaden the scope of the goods or services.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07.

 

The identification reads, in Class 17, “plastic shrink film.”   The purpose or commercial use is not stated; hence, the identification is indefinite and must be clarified because the wording is unclassifiable.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  See, in the Manual

 

016      Plastic film not for commercial or industrial purposes          DELETED

 

On 07-18-2013, this 04-02-1991 entry was deleted because it is broad enough to encompass goods in Class 17. Plastic films and sheets are generally classified according to function or purpose of the goods: Class 16 for wrapping or packaging purposes, and Class 17 for packing or non-wrapping purposes, as well as plastics in extruded form for use in further manufacture. The identification should indicate the purpose of the goods for proper classification.

           

Plastic films for wrapping and packaging is acceptable wording in Class 16; further specification as to field or industry is acceptable, but it is not required.  Plastic film roll stock for packaging is also acceptable wording in Class 16 because “Plastic materials for packaging” is in the Class 16 Heading, and the analogous goods “plastic cling film, extensible, for palletization” appears in the Nice Alphabetical List in Class 16.  Plastic films and sheets are generally classified according to function or purpose of the goods: Class 16 for “wrapping and packaging” purposes, and Class 17 for “packing” or non-wrapping purposes, as well as plastics in extruded form for use in further manufacture.

 

See also, in the Manual,

017      Heat shrink nylon tubing for covering electrical wire and nylon grommets.”

017      Adhesive plastic film for use in commercial or industrial manufacturing

 

Applicant must amend the identification to specify the common commercial or generic name of the goods or services.  See TMEP §1402.01.  If the goods or services have no common commercial or generic name, applicant must describe or explain the nature of the goods or services using clear and succinct language.  See id.

 

Applicant may adopt the following identification, if accurate:  

 

“Plastic shrink film for wrapping and packaging,” in Class 16;

 

“Plastic shrink film for use in the further manufacture of a protective housing for industrial and commercial products,” in Class 17.   

 

MULTIPLE CLASSES -- INSUFFICIENT FEES

 

The application identifies goods and/or services in more than one international class; therefore, applicant must satisfy all the requirements below for each international class based on Trademark Act Sections 1(b):

 

(1)       List the goods and/or services by their international class number in consecutive numerical order, starting with the lowest numbered class.

 

(2)       Submit a filing fee for each international class not covered by the fee(s) already paid (view the USPTO’s current fee schedule at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/tm_fee_info.jsp).  The application identifies goods and/or services that are classified in at least 2 classes; however, applicant submitted a fee(s) sufficient for only 1 class(es).  Applicant must either submit the filing fees for the classes not covered by the submitted fees or restrict the application to the number of classes covered by the fees already paid.

 

See 15 U.S.C. §§1051(b), 1112, 1126(e); 37 C.F.R. §§2.32(a)(6)-(7), 2.34(a)(2)-(3), 2.86(a); TMEP §§1403.01, 1403.02(c).

 

Therefore, applicant must either (1) restrict the application to the number of class(es) covered by the fee(s) already paid, or (2) submit the fees for the additional class(es). 

 

The fee for adding classes to a TEAS Standard application is $275 per class.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iii).  For more information about adding classes to an application, see the Multiple-class Application webpage.

 

 

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

 

 

  

/Hanno Rittner/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 119

hanno.rittner@uspto.gov

571-272-7188

 

 

 

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 June 17, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88910425

 

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. 

 

 

  

/Hanno Rittner/

Examining Attorney

Law Office 119

hanno.rittner@uspto.gov

571-272-7188

 

 

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 June 17, 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.”