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:  August 24, 2020

 

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

 

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.

 

 

No Conflicting Marks Noted

 

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.

 

 

Drawing—Color Claim Disagrees With Drawing

 

Applicant must submit either (1) a corrected color claim and/or description that agree with the colors depicted in the drawing of the mark, or (2) a color drawing that agrees with the color claim and description.  37 C.F.R.  37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1).  The drawing and color claim and description must all agree.

 

Applicant must claim and describe all colors/elements which appear in the drawing,

The following color claim and/or description format is suggested:

 

“The color green is claimed as a feature of the mark;” and “the mark consists of the stylized green wording “APPLE” to the left of a stylized depiction of a green apple.  The background of the entire mark is transparent.”

 

See 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1).

 

Common color names should be used to describe the colors in the mark, e.g., red, yellow, blue.  Exam Guide 01-03, section I.B.1.

 

 

Section 44(d) Presumed to be Sole Basis

 

Applicant has claimed priority under Section 44(d), 15 U.S.C. §1126(d), as the basis for filing; and this Office presumes, unless otherwise indicated, that applicant intends to rely upon the resulting foreign registration as a basis for registration in the United States. TMEP §§806.01(c) and 1003.03.  Under such circumstances, the application may not be approved for publication until a copy of the foreign registration and, if appropriate, an English translation signed by the translator, have been filed.  TMEP §§1004.01 et seq.

 

If applicant is asserting §44(e) as a basis for registration (based on the foreign registration that will issue from the application that the applicant relied on for priority), then applicant must submit a true copy, photocopy, certification or certified copy of a foreign registration from the applicant’s country of origin.  Applicant’s country of origin must either be a party to a convention or treaty relating to trademarks to which the United States is also a party, or must extend reciprocal registration rights to nationals of the United States by law.  See TMEP §§1002.01, 1003.03 and 1004.

 

 

Identification of Goods

 

The wording in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is too broad and could include goods in other international classes.  See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03. 

 

There are a wide variety of “mask” goods properly classified in a wide variety of international classes; identification for these types of goods must be particularly specific so as to permit proper classification.  The applicant is encouraged to browse the Office’s ID Manual for guidance. 

 

In the identification, the applicant must use the common commercial names for the goods, be as complete and specific as possible and avoid the use of indefinite words and phrases. If the applicant chooses to use indefinite terms, such as “accessories,” “components,” “devices,” “equipment,” “materials,” “parts,” “systems,” and “products,” then those words must be followed by the word “namely” and the goods listed by their common commercial names. TMEP section 1402.

 

The applicant may amend this wording to the following, if accurate:

 

Class 9:           “Dust masks for respiratory protection; Filters for non-medical respiratory masks; Dust protective goggles and masks; Protective industrial face masks”.

 

Class 10:         “Surgical masks; Personal protective equipment (PPE), namely, masks for use by medical personnel”.

 

 

See TMEP section 1402.01.

 

For the applicant’s convenience, the Trademark Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual on the office’s website at http://tess2.gov.uspto.report/netahtml/tidm.html offers a searchable list of acceptable identifications and classifications. The Manual is a useful resource and guide, but it is not an exhaustive list of every acceptable identification.

 

Please note that, while an application may be amended to clarify or limit the identification, additions to the identification are not permitted.  37 C.F.R. Section 2.71(a); TMEP section 804.09.  Therefore, the applicant may not amend to include any goods that are not within the scope of goods set forth in the present identification.

 

 

Telephone or Email Response

 

If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney.  All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.191; TMEP §§304.01-.02, 709.04-.05.  Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.

 

 

 

 

 

 

/James Ringle/

Trademark Attorney

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Law Office 111

571-272-9393

jim.ringle@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 August 24, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88923007

 

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. 

 

 

/James Ringle/

Trademark Attorney

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Law Office 111

571-272-9393

jim.ringle@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 August 24, 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.”