Offc Action Outgoing

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:  May 11, 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:

• Disclaimer Required - BESPOKE
• Identification of Goods/Services Indefinite
• Color Drawing without Color Claim

 

SEARCH OF USPTO DATABASE OF MARKS

 

The trademark examining attorney has searched the Office’s database of registered and pending marks and has found no conflicting marks that would bar registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d).  TMEP §704.02; see 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).

 

DISCLAIMER REQUIRED

 

Applicant must disclaim the wording “BESPOKE” because it is merely descriptive of a characteristic of applicant’s goods and 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). 

 

Applicant’s goods/services are:

 

            Class 25:         Clothing, headwear, and footwear

 

            Class 35:         retail store services

 

            Class 40:         custom tailoring services

 

BESPOKE is defined as “Custom-made E.g., a bespoke suit,” and “dealing in or producing custom-made articles, e.g., a bespoke tailor.”

 

As indicated by Applicant’s specimen of use, applicant’s goods are all bespoke goods (custom made), and applicant is serving as a bespoke retailer/tailor. The term immediately describes this central feature of the goods/services.

 

See, for example, the following attachments:

 

Gentleman’s Gazette:           “Bespoke Tailoring Basics. Bespoke tailoring is the pinnacle of men’s attire in terms of customization, time commitment, and cost. In today’s article, our resident expert in bespoke tailoring and author of the influential The Gentleman book, Bernhard Roetzel, will share the basics of why bespoke is worth the money and how to get started.”

 

Wikipedia:      “Bespoke tailoring … is clothing made to an individual buyer's specifications by a tailor.”

 

Jaxson Maximus:      “WHAT IS TRUE MEANING OF BESPOKE | THE BESPOKE TAILORING GUIDE. … The term bespoke describes something that is custom made for you and you only based on your individual specifications. … Bespoke tailoring combines the core principles of bespoke and elevates them with the masterful craft of tailoring.”

 

Forbes:           “The Bespoke Business Will Change How You Shop -- And How You Look. A mass of opportunity surrounds the power of customization, and brands, retailers and new entrants will be wise to look for new ways to support and grow the bespoke business.”

 

Thus, the wording merely describes a significant feature or characteristic of applicant’s goods and services, and must be disclaimed.

 

A “disclaimer” is a statement in the application record that an applicant does not claim exclusive rights to an unregistrable component of the mark.  See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d 978, 979-80, 144 USPQ 433, 433 (C.C.P.A. 1965); TMEP §1213.  A disclaimer does not physically remove the disclaimed matter from the mark or otherwise affect the appearance of the mark.  See Schwarzkopf v. John H. Breck, Inc., 340 F.2d at 979, 144 USPQ2d at 433; TMEP §1213.

 

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

 

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “BESPOKE” 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. 

 

IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

 

The wording in the identification of goods and services is indefinite, overbroad, or does not sufficiently distinguish the form or function of the goods to be proper beneath the present guidelines of the Trademark Act. Thus, the language must be better-clarified where indicated below, in bold. Explanations for the reasoning behind the indefiniteness, and proper re-classification where applicable, is provided below within the identifications.

 

Applicant may therefore adopt the following identification(s), if accurate.  See TMEP §1402.01.

 

            Class 25:         Clothing, namly, {list items of clothing by their common commercial names, e.g., suits, dress shirts, dress pants and ties}; headwear; footwear

            Class 35:         Retail store services featuring {specify goods being sold, e.g., clothing}

            Class 40:         (acceptable)

 

The applicant is advised that the above suggestions may not be a complete listing of amended specifications available to the applicant, but are instead provided only as suggestions. Given the extremely indefinite nature of some of the goods in part and given that the application is based on intent to use, the examiner is unable to suggest a more comprehensive amended identification for the applicant’s consideration and possible adoption in responding to this Office Action.  It is the applicant's duty and prerogative to identify the goods and services.  TMEP section 1402.01(d).

 

Applicant’s goods and/or services may be clarified or limited, but may not be expanded beyond those originally itemized in the application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Applicant may clarify or limit the identification by inserting qualifying language or deleting items to result in a more specific identification; however, applicant may not substitute different goods and/or services or add goods and/or services not found or encompassed by those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See TMEP §1402.06(a)-(b).  The scope of the goods and/or services sets the outer limit for any changes to the identification and is generally determined by the ordinary meaning of the wording in the identification.  TMEP §§1402.06(b), 1402.07(a)-(b).  Any acceptable changes to the goods and/or services will further limit scope, and once goods and/or services are deleted, they are not permitted to be reinserted.  TMEP §1402.07(e).

 

For assistance with identifying and classifying goods and services in trademark applications, please see the USPTO’s online searchable U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual.  See TMEP §1402.04.

 

COLOR CLAIM & DESCRIPTION OF THE MARK

 

Applicant must clarify whether color is a feature of the mark because, although the drawing shows the mark in color, the application does not state whether color is a feature of the mark.  37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1), 2.61(b); see TMEP §807.07(a)-(a)(ii).

 

Applicant may respond to this requirement by satisfying one of the following:

 

(1)               If color is not a feature of the mark, applicant must submit a black-and-white drawing of the mark to replace the color drawing.  See TMEP §807.07(a)(i).  However, any other amendments to the drawing will not be accepted if they materially alter the mark.  37 C.F.R. §2.72; see TMEP §§807.14 et seq.  Applicant must also submit a revised description of all literal and design elements in the mark, deleting any reference to color, if appropriate.  37 C.F.R. §2.37; see TMEP §§808.01, 808.02.  The following description is suggested, if accurate: 

 

 mark consists of the word BESPOKE with a needle threaded in the top of the letter "P".

 

(2)        If color is a feature of the mark, applicant must submit a statement (a) listing all the colors that are claimed as a feature of the mark and (b) describing all the literal and design elements in the mark that specifies where each color appears in those elements.  37 C.F.R. §§2.37, 2.52(b)(1); TMEP §807.07(a)-(a)(ii).  Generic color names must be used to describe the colors in the mark, e.g., red, yellow, blue.  TMEP §807.07(a)(i)-(ii).  If black, white, and/or gray represent background, outlining, shading, and/or transparent areas and are not part of the mark, applicant must so specify in the description.  See TMEP §807.07(d).  The following color claim and description are suggested, if accurate: 

 

Color claim:  “The color brown is claimed as a feature of the mark.”

 

Description:  “The mark consists of the word BESPOKE with a needle threaded in the top of the letter "P,” all in brown.”

See TMEP §807.07(b).

 

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. 

 

 

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

 

 

/Caitlin Watts-Fitzgerald/

Caitlin Watts-FitzGerald

Examining Attorney

Law Office 111

571-272-9015

Caitlin.Watts-Fitzgerald@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 May 11, 2021 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90339329

 

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. 

 

 

/Caitlin Watts-Fitzgerald/

Caitlin Watts-FitzGerald

Examining Attorney

Law Office 111

571-272-9015

Caitlin.Watts-Fitzgerald@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 May 11, 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.”