To: | University of Georgia Research Foundatio ETC. (mhoots@srtslaw.com) |
Subject: | U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90399343 - AMBROSIA - 21013.8390 |
Sent: | June 17, 2021 11:46:13 PM |
Sent As: | ecom120@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 Attachment - 12 Attachment - 13 Attachment - 14 Attachment - 15 Attachment - 16 Attachment - 17 Attachment - 18 Attachment - 19 |
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Office Action (Official Letter) About Applicant’s Trademark Application
U.S. Application Serial No. 90399343
Mark: AMBROSIA
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Correspondence Address: |
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Applicant: University of Georgia Research Foundatio ETC.
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Reference/Docket No. 21013.8390
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 17, 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.
SEARCH OF USPTO DATABASE OF MARKS
FAILURE TO FUNCTION AS A TRADEMARK – VARIETAL NAME
Varietal or cultivar names are designations used to identify cultivated varieties or subspecies of live plants or agricultural seeds. TMEP §1202.12. They are generic and cannot be registered as trademarks because they are the common descriptive names of plants or seeds by which such varieties are known to the U.S. consumer. Id. Moreover, a consumer “has to have some common descriptive name he can use to indicate that he wants one [particular] variety of apple tree, rose, or whatever, as opposed to another, and it is the varietal name of the strain which naturally and commonly serves this purpose.” In re Pennington Seed, Inc., 466 F.3d 1053, 1057, 80 USPQ2d 1758, 1761 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (quoting In re Hilltop Orchards & Nurseries, Inc., 206 USPQ 1034, 1036 (TTAB 1979)); see In re Delta & Pine Land Co., 26 USPQ2d 1157, 1159 n.4 (TTAB 1993).
INFORMATION REQUIRED REGARDING APPLIED-FOR MARK
To permit proper examination of the applied-for mark, applicant must indicate the following:
(1) Whether AMBROSIA has ever been used or will be used as a varietal or cultivar name; and
(2) Whether AMBROSIA has ever been used or will be used in connection with a plant patent, utility patent, or certificate for plant-variety protection.
TMEP §1202.12; see 37 C.F.R. §2.61(b).
Failure to comply with a request for information is grounds for refusing registration. In re Harley, 119 USPQ2d 1755, 1757-58 (TTAB 2016); TMEP §814.
IDENTIFICATION OF GOODS REQUIREMENT
Applicant must correct the punctuation in the identification to clarify the individual items in the list of goods. See 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(6); TMEP §1402.01(a). Proper punctuation in identifications is necessary to delineate explicitly each product or service within a list and to avoid ambiguity. Commas, semicolons, and apostrophes are the only punctuation that should be used in an identification of goods and/or services. TMEP §1402.01(a). An applicant should not use colons, periods, exclamation points, and question marks in an identification. Id. In addition, applicants should not use symbols in the identification such as asterisks (*), at symbols (@), or carets. Id.
In general, commas should be used in an identification (1) to separate a series of related items identified within a particular category of goods or services, (2) before and after “namely,” and (3) between each item in a list of goods or services following “namely” (e.g., personal care products, namely, body lotion, bar soap, shampoo). Id. Semicolons generally should be used to separate a series of distinct categories of goods or services within an international class (e.g., personal care products, namely, body lotion; deodorizers for pets; glass cleaners). Id.
Suggested Amendments:
Applicant may substitute the following wording, if accurate: (additions in bold)
· Class 31: Live plants, excluding apples; Live plants, namely blueberries
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.
RESPONSE GUIDELINES
For this application to proceed, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement in this Office action. For a refusal, applicant may provide written arguments and evidence against the refusal, and may have other response options if specified above. For a requirement, applicant should set forth the changes or statements. Please see “Responding to Office Actions” and the informational video “Response to Office Action” for more information and tips on responding.
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.
/Kerry A. Nicholson/
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 120
Phone: (571) 272-5159
kerry.nicholson@uspto.gov
RESPONSE GUIDANCE