To: | OMS Investments, Inc. (trademarks@scotts.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90384352 - MISERABLE MOSQUITOES - N/A |
Sent: | June 02, 2021 06:22:09 AM |
Sent As: | ecom108@uspto.gov |
Attachments: | Attachment - 1 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 90384352
Mark: MISERABLE MOSQUITOES
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Correspondence Address: 10250 CONSTELLATION BLVD., SUITE 2800
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Applicant: OMS Investments, Inc.
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Reference/Docket No. N/A
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: June 02, 2021
The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney. Applicant must respond timely and completely to the disclaimer issue below. 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62(a), 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.
Search
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.
A “MOSQUITO” is defined as any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Culicidae, the females of which suck the blood of animals and humans, some species transmitting certain diseases, as malaria and yellow fever (See attached).[1] This merely descriptive of the identified goods, namely, herbicides and pesticides for mosquitoes.
An applicant may not claim exclusive rights to terms that others may need to use to describe their goods and/or services in the marketplace. 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). A disclaimer of unregistrable matter does not affect the appearance of the mark; that is, a disclaimer does not physically remove the 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.
If applicant does not provide the required disclaimer, the USPTO may refuse to register the entire mark. See In re Stereotaxis Inc., 429 F.3d 1039, 1040-41, 77 USPQ2d 1087, 1088-89 (Fed. Cir. 2005); TMEP §1213.01(b).
Applicant should submit a disclaimer in the following standardized format:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “MOSQUITOES” apart from the mark as shown.
For an overview of disclaimers and instructions on how to satisfy this disclaimer requirement online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) form, please go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/law/disclaimer.jsp.
This issue can be resolved by telephone or by leaving an e-mail message (at jason.turner@uspto.gov) authorizing the changes suggested.
How to respond. Click to file a response to this nonfinal Office action.
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.
/Jason F. Turner/
Jason F. Turner
Examining Attorney
Law Office 108
(571) 272-9353
jason.turner@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE
[1] mosquito. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mosquito (accessed: June 2, 2021).