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:  March 22, 2021

 

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(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

 

Search Results

 

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).

 

Identification of Goods

 

The wording “vegan and vegetarian meat products” in the identification of goods is indefinite and must be clarified because “meat products” is indefinite and could identify hundreds of different goods.  The nature of the products must be specified or clarified as being “meat substitutes”.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01.  Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate: 

 

“Cereal bars; Cereal based snack food; Cereal based food bars; cereal and nut bars; Grain based food bars also containing nuts; granola based food bars; grain based food bars also containing dried fruit, seeds, quinoa and other ingredients; grain-based food bars; cereal based food bars; chocolate-based ready-to-eat food bars; brown-rice-syrup-based food bars; granola; granola-based ready-to-eat food bars; grain-based, nutrient-dense, ready-to-eat food bars; energy bars; quinoa-based food bars; cereal-based snack food clusters consisting primarily of whole grains and also containing other ingredients, namely, nuts, fruits, and seeds; whole grain-based salty snack foods; High-protein cereal bars; Gluten-free cereal bars; Grain-free cereal bars; Breakfast bars, namely, cereal bars; snack mix consisting primarily of crackers, pretzels or popcorn; Prepared meals consisting primarily of pasta or rice; frozen meals consisting primary of pasta or rice; packaged meals consisting primarily of pasta or rice; prepared meals consisting primarily of quinoa; frozen meals consisting primarily of quinoa; packaged meals consisting primarily of quinoa; prepared meals consisting primarily of noodles; frozen meals consisting primarily of noodles; packaged meals consisting primarily of noodles; meal kits primarily consisting of noodles; meal kits primarily consisting of pasta or rice; pizza; pizza containing meat substitutes, vegan or vegetarian meat substitutes or plant-based meat substitutes; frozen pizza; kits comprised of ingredients for preparing pizza; calzones; sandwiches; wrap sandwiches; panini; non-dairy frozen confections; frozen yogurt” in Class 30.

 

Applicant may amend the identification to clarify or limit the goods and/or services, but not to broaden or expand the goods and/or services beyond those in the original application or as acceptably amended.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.71(a); TMEP §1402.06.  Generally, any deleted goods and/or services may not later be reinserted.  See 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.

 

Questions

 

If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney.  All matters raised above can be handled over the phone.  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 requirements 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.    

 

 

/John M. Wilke/

Attorney Examiner

Law Office 104

571-272-5871

john.wilke@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 March 22, 2021 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90372189

 

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. 

 

 

/John M. Wilke/

Attorney Examiner

Law Office 104

571-272-5871

john.wilke@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 March 22, 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.”