Examiners Amendment

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

EXAMINER’S AMENDMENT

 

 

Issue date:  September 29, 2020

 

 

USPTO database searched; no conflicting marks found.  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.

 

Application has been amended as shown below.  As agreed to by Nick R Guerriero on September 29, 2020, the examining attorney has amended the application as shown below.  Please notify the examining attorney immediately of any objections.  TMEP §707.  Otherwise, no response is required.  Id.  In addition, applicant is advised that amendments to the goods and/or services are permitted only if they clarify or limit them; amendments that add to or broaden the scope of the goods and/or services are not permitted.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a).

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MARK

 

The following description of the mark replaces the current description of record:

 

            The mark consists of the literal elements “V VERITY” represented in stylized font wherein the letter “V” is enclosed within a circular border and located above the word “VERITY”.

 

See 37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.72; TMEP §§808 et seq.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AFTER EXAMINER’S AMENDMENT

 

After the trademark examining attorney issues the examiner’s amendment, applicant will not receive a registration on the Principal Register for the applied-for mark until the mark makes it through the publication process and opposition period.  The publication process starts once the trademark examining attorney issues the examiner’s amendment and the mark is approved for publication in the USPTO’s Trademark Official Gazette, a weekly online publication.  The USPTO will then send a “Notice of Publication” to the applicant specifying the date its mark will publish in this publication.

 

The USPTO publishes applicant’s mark in the Trademark Official Gazette to provide third parties who believe they may be damaged by registration of applicant’s mark an opportunity to oppose registration of that mark within thirty (30) days from the publication date.  An “opposition” is similar to a federal court proceeding, but this proceeding is held before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a USPTO administrative tribunal of administrative judges who issue decisions on these matters.  If a third party opposes registration of applicant’s mark by instituting an opposition proceeding, the USPTO will send applicant notice of this opposition. 

 

If no one opposes registration of the mark, and the mark was published based upon an applicant’s actual use of the mark in commerce or on a foreign registration, the USPTO generally registers the mark and issues a registration certificate within approximately twelve (12) weeks after the publication date.

 

If no one opposes registration of the mark, and the mark was published based upon an applicant’s bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, the USPTO generally issues a “Notice of Allowance” within approximately eight (8) weeks after the publication date.  Applicant then has six (6) months from the date of the Notice of Allowance to timely file a “Statement of Use” or to file a request for a six-month “Extension of Time to file a Statement of Use” (extension request).  Extension requests are granted in six-month increments and a maximum of five extension requests can be filed after the issuance of the Notice of Allowance.  If a Statement of Use is not filed within the six months after the Notice of Allowance issued, a Statement of Use must be filed within the time period of a previously granted extension request.  The USPTO will only issue a registration certificate after the trademark examining attorney approves a Statement of Use.

 

For an overview of the time frames for when an applicant should file and the USPTO will issue documents related to a trademark application, see Trademark Application and Post-Registration Process Timelines.  Forms for Statements of Use and extension requests, and additional requirements for intent to use applications, are available online at Intent to Use (ITU) Forms.

 

 

 

 

REGISTRATION MAINTENANCE INFORMATION

Trademark registrations must be renewed to remain active; that is, the registration owner must file the proper registration maintenance documents and fees within specific time periods.  See 15 U.S.C. §§1058, 1059; 37 C.F.R. §§2.160, 2.161, 2.183; TMEP ch. 1600.  If these maintenance documents are not timely and properly filed by the owner, the trademark registration will be cancelled and/or expired, and the owner will have to file a new trademark application and begin the process again of seeking a registration.  Notice of these registration maintenance requirements is provided on the certificate of registration, which is the only notice provided by the USPTO.  37 C.F.R. §2.162; TMEP §1604.02. 

Between the fifth and sixth year after registration, the registration owner must file a Trademark Act Section 8 affidavit of use that includes fees and a specimen, among other things.  However, there is a 6-month grace period after the sixth year in which the Section 8 affidavit can be filed for an additional fee.  15 U.S.C. §1058; 37 C.F.R. §§2.160, 2.161.

Between the ninth and tenth year after registration, and at the end of each successive 10-year period after the date of registration (between the 19th and 20th year, the 29th and 30th year, etc.), the owner must file both a Section 8 affidavit and a renewal application under Section 9.  There is also a 6-month grace period to file these documents, for an additional fee.  15 U.S.C. §§1058, 1059; 37 C.F.R. §§2.160, 2.161, 2.183.

The deadline for filing proper registration maintenance documents cannot be waived on petition.  See, e.g., In re Holland Am. Wafer Co., 737 F.2d 1015, 1018, 222 USPQ 273, 275 (Fed. Cir. 1984); In re Mother Tucker's Food Experience (Can.) Inc., 925 F.2d 1402, 1406, 17 USPQ2d 1795, 1798 (Fed. Cir. 1991).

For more information about maintaining a registration, consult the USPTO website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/maintain/prfaq.jsp.  Forms for filing maintenance documents are available at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks

 

RESPONSE GUIDELINES

 

Please call or email the assigned trademark examining attorney with questions about this Office action.  Although an examining attorney cannot provide legal advice, the examining attorney can provide additional explanation about the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06. 

 

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. 

 

 

 

/Ronald E. DelGizzi/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 107

Phone - (571) 272-2754

ronald.delgizzi@uspto.gov

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on September 29, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90022663

 

Your trademark application has been reviewed by a trademark examining attorney.  As part of that review, the assigned attorney has issued an official letter.  Please follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the official letter.  No response is necessary.

 

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

 

/Ronald E. DelGizzi/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 107

Phone - (571) 272-2754

ronald.delgizzi@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).

 

 

 

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.”