To: | Neal, Maurecia S. (Fox292000@yahoo.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88924102 - VANESSA COLLECTIONS - N/A |
Sent: | September 08, 2020 02:11:14 PM |
Sent As: | ecom112@uspto.gov |
Attachments: |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 88924102
Mark: VANESSA COLLECTIONS
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Correspondence Address:
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Applicant: Neal, Maurecia S.
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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: September 08, 2020
This Office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on August 21, 2020.
In a previous Office action dated August 20, 2020, applicant was required to amend the identification of services, disclaim descriptive wording in the mark, and clarify the entity type.
Based on applicant’s response, the trademark examining attorney notes that the requirement to amend the identification of services has been satisfied. See TMEP §§713.02, 714.04.
Further, applicant failed to address the requirements to disclaim descriptive wording in the mark and clarify the entity type.
Therefore, the trademark examining attorney maintains and now makes FINAL the requirements in the summary of issues below. See 37 C.F.R. §2.63(b); TMEP §714.04.
SUMMARY OF ISSUES MADE FINAL:
Applicant must disclaim the wording “COLLECTIONS” 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).
In the present case, applicant applied for the mark “VANESSA COLLECTIONS” for “Retail discount store services in the field of Clothing, Electronics, Handbags and Accessories thereof.”
According to the previously attached dictionary definition, the term “collections” is defined as “a set of apparel designed for sale usually in a particular season.” See evidence. Here, the wording COLLECTIONS merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant’s retail services, namely, that the services feature sets of apparel or things collected for sale.
Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “COLLECTIONS” apart from the mark as shown.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this issue using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage.
ISSUE REGARDING APPLICANT’S ENTITY TYPE
If applicant is an individual (i.e., Maurecia S Neal), applicant should simply request that the legal entity be amended to “individual” and must indicate his/her country of citizenship for the record. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(b)(3)(i); TMEP §803.03(a). Alternatively, if applicant is a limited liability company, applicant must provide the correct name of the limited liability company and the U.S. state or foreign country of incorporation or organization. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(3)(ii); TMEP §803.03(h).
If, in response to the above request, applicant provides information indicating that it is not the owner of the mark, registration may be refused because the application was void as filed. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(d); TMEP §§803.06, 1201.02(b). An application must be filed by the party who owns or is entitled to use the mark as of the application filing date. See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(d); TMEP §1201.02(b).
RESPONSE GUIDELINES
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).
ASSISTANCE
Because of the legal technicalities and strict deadlines of the trademark application process, applicant is encouraged to hire a private attorney who specializes in trademark matters to assist in this process. The assigned trademark examining attorney can provide only limited assistance explaining the content of an Office action and the application process. USPTO staff cannot provide legal advice or statements about an applicant’s legal rights. TMEP §§705.02, 709.06. See Hiring a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney for more information.
/Kim L. Parks/
Kimberly L. Parks
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 112
571.272.6129
kimberly.parks@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE