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:  September 30, 2020

 

The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney.  Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issues below.  15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62, 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

Summary of Issues Applicant Must Address

(1)  Requirement to Amend Mark Description; and

(2)  Requirement to Amend Recitation of Services (Class 36 only)

 

Search for Conflicting Marks

The following potential refusal applies only to Class 36.

The trademark examining attorney has searched the Office’s database of registered and pending marks and has found no similar registered mark that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d).  TMEP §704.02; see 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  However, marks in prior-filed pending applications may present a bar to registration of applicant’s mark.

 

Prior Pending Applications

 

The filing dates of pending Application Serial Nos. 88546075 and 88661982 precede applicant’s filing date.  See attached referenced applications.  If one or more of the marks in the referenced applications register, applicant’s mark may be refused registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark(s).  See 15 U.S.C. §1052(d); 37 C.F.R. §2.83; TMEP §§1208 et seq.  Therefore, upon receipt of applicant’s response to this Office action, action on this application may be suspended pending final disposition of the earlier-filed referenced applications.

 

In response to this Office action, applicant may present arguments in support of registration by addressing the issue of the potential conflict between applicant’s mark and the marks in the referenced applications.  Applicant’s election not to submit arguments at this time in no way limits applicant’s right to address this issue later if a refusal under Section 2(d) issues.

 

Applicant should also note the following informalities.

Description of Mark

Inasmuch as the applied-for mark displays the word “RIPPLE” in a thick and bolded font style spatially separated from the thin letter “X”, applicant must revise the mark description of record by more accurately describing the literal elements in the proposed mark.  37 C.F.R. §2.37; see TMEP §§808.01, 808.02.  The following is suggested, if accurate: 

The mark consists of the wording “RIPPLE X” in stylized font all in lower case letters immediately preceded by three connected circles.

This mark description is highly similar to the mark description voluntarily submitted by applicant in connection with its companion application to register the mark RIPPLE IMPACT subject to Application Serial No. 90125188.  See the attached printouts.

 

Literal Element of Mark (Advisory)

 

In light of the foregoing, applicant is respectfully advised that the literal element of the mark is RIPPLE X, not RIPPLEX as noted in the “Literal Element” section of the application.  TMEP §807 et seq.

Recitation of Services

The following informality applies only to the specified services in Class 36.

The wording “financial transaction verification services, namely, delivering remittances and monetary gifts from a source to a destination” and “facilitating transfers of digital currency” in the Class 36 recitation of services is indefinite and must be amended to clarify the nature of the services intended to be associated with the applied-for mark (e.g. “financial transaction verification services in the field of delivering remittances and monetary gifts from a source to a destination” and “digital currency transfer services”). TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.

Regarding the wording “financial transaction verification services, namely, delivering remittances and monetary gifts from a source to a destination”, the services listed after “namely” (i.e., “delivering remittances and monetary gifts from a source to a destination”) do not further define the introductory wording that precedes “namely” (i.e., “financial transaction verification services”) by using definite terms within the scope of the introductory wording. [Emphasis added].  TMEP §1402.03(a).

As for the clause “financial management and administration services, namely, facilitating transfers of digital currency . . .”, the word “facilitating” is indefinite and does not sufficiently clarify the nature of the services intended to be associated with the applied-for mark.  For example, does the applicant provide actual digital currency transfer services in Class 36 or other services that help bring about/facilitate digital currency transfers such as the SAAS services identified in Class 42?

The applicant may adopt any or all of the following descriptions, if accurate:  

“Electronic financial services, namely, monetary services for receiving and disbursing remittances and monetary gifts in fiat currencies and virtual currencies over a computer network and for exchanging fiat currencies and virtual currencies over a computer network; electronic financial services, namely, receiving and disbursing payments and monetary gifts in fiat currencies and virtual currencies over a computer network; financial services, namely, providing a virtual currency for exchange over a computer network; currency exchange services, namely, exchanging fiat currencies and virtual currencies over a computer network; financial transaction verification services in the field of delivering remittances and monetary gifts from a source to a destination; financial management and administration services, namely, digital currency transfer services, transmission of digital currency via electronic communication networks, and electronic transmission of digital currency”, in International Class 36;

“Peer-to-peer network computer services, namely, electronic transmission of financial data over electronic communications network”, in International Class 38; and/or

“Software as a service, featuring software for providing an electronic financial platform that facilitates transaction of remittances over a computer network; electronic data storage, namely, storage of virtual currency”, in International Class 42.

TMEP §1402.11.

For assistance with identifying and classifying services in trademark applications, please see the online searchable Manual of Acceptable Identifications of Goods and Services 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 services, but not to add to or broaden the scope of the services.  37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); see TMEP §§1402.06 et seq., 1402.07. Furthermore, any services deleted by amendment may not be reinserted at a later point in prosecution.  TMEP §1402.01(e).

 

 

Miscellaneous

If applicant’s attorney has questions about this application or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned trademark examining attorney directly at the number below.

Advisory Regarding E-mail Communications

If applicant’s attorney 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 §§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.

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

 

 

/David Yontef/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 118

(571) 272-8274

david.yontef@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 September 30, 2020 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90107288

 

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. 

 

 

/David Yontef/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 118

(571) 272-8274

david.yontef@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 September 30, 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.”