Offc Action Outgoing

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

NON-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).  A link to the appropriate TEAS response form appears at the end of this Office action. 

 

 

Issue date:  January 06, 2021

 

 

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.

 

 

SUMMARY OF ISSUES

 

• Requirement to Amend the Drawing of the Mark
• Requirement for a Disclaimer

 

 

SEARCH OF USPTO DATABASE OF MARKS

 

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.

 

 

AMENDMENT TO DRAWING OF THE MARK REQUIRED

 

Applicant must submit a new drawing with the ® symbol deleted from the drawing of the mark; this symbol is not part of the mark and is not registrable.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.72; TMEP §807.14(a).  Although applicant must delete this matter, applicant may not make any other changes or amendments that would materially alter the drawing of the mark.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.72; TMEP §§807.14 et seq.  For more information about deleting matter from the drawing, see the Drawing webpage.

 

 

DISCLAIMER REQUIRED

 

Applicant must disclaim the wording “Natural Light”, “Pineapple Lemonade” and “Beer” in the mark because it is merely descriptive of an ingredient or characteristic of applicant’s goods.  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). 

 

The term “natural” means “not altered, treated, or disguised.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, search of “natural,” http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=natural (January 6, 2021).  Something that is described as being “light” includes “…a relatively small amount of a potentially harmful ingredient, such as alcohol, fat, or sodium: light beer.”  The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, search of “light,” http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=light (January 6, 2021).  The attached evidence illustrates that the applicant’s goods, identified as “flavored beer”, are low in calories and contain natural ingredients.  Barnivore, Natural Light is Vegan Friendly, http://www.barnivore.com/products/3045-natural-light (accessed: January 6, 2021) (“Our beers are brewed with all-natural ingredients and we do not add sugar to them.”); Natural Light, Natural History, http://www.naturallight.com/history.html (January 6, 2021) (“Natural Light was Anheuser-Busch’s first reduced-calorie light beer”).  “Lemonade” is “a drink made of lemon juice, water, and sugar.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, search of “lemonade,” http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=lemonade (January 6, 2021). A “strawberry” is the red edible fruit from a low growing plant.  See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, search of “strawberry,” http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=strawberry (January 6, 2021).  The applicant’s “flavored beer” is a “light lager,” which is a type of beer, that contains both strawberry and lemonade flavors.  See Natural Light, Our Beers, Naturdays, http://www.naturallight.com/our-beers/naturdays.html (January 6, 2021); The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, search of “lager,” http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=lager (January 6, 2021).  Thus, the wording “Natural Light” ”, “Pineapple Lemonade” and “Beer” in the mark are merely descriptive of an ingredient or characteristic of applicant’s goods.

 

Applicant may respond to this issue by submitting a disclaimer in the following format: 

 

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “Natural Light”, “Pineapple Lemonade” and “Beer” apart from the mark as shown. 

 

For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to provide one using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), see the Disclaimer webpage. 

 

 

RESPONSE TO OFFICE ACTION

 

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. §§2.62(c), 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.

 

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

 

 

/Alyssa Paladino Steel/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

(571) 272-8808

alyssa.steel@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 January 06, 2021 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90148553

 

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. 

 

 

/Alyssa Paladino Steel/

Trademark Examining Attorney

Law Office 124

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

(571) 272-8808

alyssa.steel@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 January 06, 2021, 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.”