To: | The Prolmmune Company, L.L.C. (tmde@ratnerprestia.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90115305 - PROTHIONE CAPSULES - PIM-121US |
Sent: | March 08, 2021 04:12:23 PM |
Sent As: | ecom111@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 Attachment - 2 Attachment - 3 Attachment - 4 Attachment - 5 Attachment - 6 Attachment - 7 Attachment - 8 Attachment - 9 Attachment - 10 Attachment - 11 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 90115305
Mark: PROTHIONE CAPSULES
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Correspondence Address: 2200 RENAISSANCE BLVD, SUITE 350
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Applicant: The Prolmmune Company, L.L.C.
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Reference/Docket No. PIM-121US
Correspondence Email Address: |
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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: March 08, 2021
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
No Conflicting Marks Noted
Applicant’s Name Requires Clarification
Applicant must clarify its name for the record.
Applicant has indicated that its name is “The Prolmmune Company, L.L.C.” with the letter “L” appearing between the letters “O” and “M” in the word “PROLMMUNE”.
This appears to be a typo; it seems applicant’s name should be “THE PROIMMUNE COMPANY, L.L.C.” with the letter “I” in the word “PROIMMUNE”.
Identification of Goods
The wording in the identification of goods must be clarified because it is not clear what the goods are. See TMEP §§1402.01, 1402.03.
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 5: “Pharmaceutical preparations for improving immune system performance; food, dietary, and nutritional supplements for improving immune system performance”.
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.
Disclaimer
Applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording “CAPSULES” apart from the mark as shown because the wording merely describes a feature or characteristic of the goods, namely, the way in which the goods are sold or delivered in capsule form. Trademark Act Section 6, 15 U.S.C. §1056; TMEP §§1213 and 1213.03(a).
The word “CAPSULE” means “a shell usually of gelatin for packaging something (such as a drug or vitamins)”. Please see the attached dictionary definition retrieved from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionaries.
The Office can require an applicant to disclaim exclusive rights to an unregistrable part of a mark, rather than refuse registration of the entire mark. Trademark Act Section 6(a), 15 U.S.C. §1056(a). Under Trademark Act Section 2(e), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e), the Office can refuse registration of the entire mark where it is determined that the entire mark is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive of the goods. Thus, the Office may require the disclaimer of a portion of a mark which, when used in connection with the goods or services, is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, primarily geographically descriptive, or otherwise unregistrable (e.g., generic). TMEP §1213.03(a). If an applicant does not comply with a disclaimer requirement, the Office may refuse registration of the entire mark. TMEP §1213.01(b).
A “disclaimer” is a statement in the application record that an applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of the mark; a disclaimer of unregistrable matter does not affect the appearance of the mark or physically remove disclaimed matter from the mark. See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d 978, 978, 144 USPQ 433, 433 (C.C.P.A. 1965); TMEP §1213. An unregistrable component of a mark includes wording and designs that are merely descriptive of an applicant’s goods and/or services. 15 U.S.C. §1052(e); see TMEP §§1209.03(f), 1213.03 et seq. Such words or designs need to be freely available for other businesses to market comparable goods or services and should not become the proprietary domain of any one party. See Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l, Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 1560, 21 USPQ2d 1047, 1051 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Aug. Storck KG, 218 USPQ 823, 825 (TTAB 1983).
The following cases further explain the disclaimer requirement: Dena Corp. v. Belvedere Int’l Inc., 950 F.2d 1555, 21 USPQ2d 1047 (Fed. Cir. 1991); In re Brown-Forman Corp., 81 USPQ2d 1284 (TTAB 2006); In re Kraft, Inc., 218 USPQ 571 (TTAB 1983).
Applicant should submit the following standardized format for a disclaimer:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “CAPSULES” apart from the mark as shown.
TMEP §1213.08(a)(i); see In re Owatonna Tool Co., 231 USPQ 493, 494 (Comm’r Pats. 1983).
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