Suspension Letter

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

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

 

 

 

SUSPENSION NOTICE

No Response Required

 

 

Issue date:  May 13, 2022

 

 

The application is suspended for the reason(s) specified below.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.67; TMEP §§716 et seq. 

 

The pending application(s) below has an earlier filing date or effective filing date than applicant’s application.  If the mark in the application(s) below registers, the USPTO may refuse registration of applicant’s mark under Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark(s).  15 U.S.C. §1052(d); see 37 C.F.R. §2.83; TMEP §1208.02(c).  Action on this application is suspended until the prior-filed application(s) below either registers or abandons.  37 C.F.R. §2.83(c).  Information relevant to the application(s) below is provided in this letter.

 

            - U.S. Application Serial No(s). 88705284 and 88702062

 

Suspension process.  The USPTO will periodically check this application to determine if it should remain suspended.  See TMEP §716.04.  As needed, the trademark examining attorney will issue a letter to applicant to inquire about the status of the reason for the suspension.  TMEP §716.05. 

 

No response required.  Applicant may file a response, but is not required to do so. 

 

The amendment to the identification of goods is acceptable.

 

The refusal because the applied-for mark merely describes a characteristic and feature of applicant’s goods and/or services is continued.

 

The attached evidence from http://www.izotope.com/en/blog/music-production/stems-and-multitracks-whats-the-difference.html, http://www.subaqueousmusic.com/creating-stems-in-ableton-live/, and http://djbooth.net/pro-audio/the-best-places-to-find-stems-for-your-set shows that the wording  “STEM” is commonly used in reference to a type of audio file. In relation to the applicant’s goods, the wording “STEMS” is descriptive because the applicant is providing software for creating and editing music stem files.

 

The term “PLAYER” is defined as “device that plays or controls the playing of audio or video recordings”.  See American Heritage Dictionary Definition attached.  In relation to applicant’s goods, the term “PLAYER” is merely descriptive because applicant’s software is used to create music.

 

When combined, the phrase “STEM MAKER” immediately describes to consumers a feature of applicant’s goods because applicant is providing software for sound manipulation including creating and editing music and audio stem files.

 

 

 

/Robert Clark/

Robert Clark

Examining Attorney

Law Office 101

571-272-9144

Robert.Clark@uspto.gov

 

 

 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

 

USPTO OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

Office Action (Official Letter) has issued

on May 13, 2022 for

U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 90977121

 

A USPTO examining attorney has reviewed your trademark application and issued an Office action.  You may be required to respond to this Office action.  Follow the steps below.

 

(1)  Read the Office action.  This email is NOT the Office action.

 

(2)  Respond to the Office action, if a response is required.  Respond by the deadline using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).  Your response must be received by the USPTO on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time of the last day of the response period.  Otherwise, your application will be abandoned.  See the Office action itself regarding how to respond.

 

(3)  Direct general questions about using USPTO electronic forms, the USPTO website, the application process, the status of your application, and whether there are outstanding deadlines to the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).

 

After reading the Office action, address any question(s) regarding the specific content to the USPTO examining attorney identified in the Office action.

 

 

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 to ensure you receive important USPTO notices about your application.

 

·       Beware of trademark-related scams.  Protect yourself from people and companies that may try to take financial advantage of you.  Private companies may call you and pretend to be the USPTO or may send you communications that resemble official USPTO documents to trick you.  We will never request your credit card number or social security number over the phone.  And all official USPTO correspondence will only be emailed from the domain “@uspto.gov.”  Verify the correspondence originated from us by using your Serial Number in our database, TSDR, to confirm that it appears under the “Documents” tab, or contact the Trademark Assistance Center.

 

·       Hiring a U.S.-licensed attorney.  If you do not have an attorney and are not required to have one under the trademark rules, we encourage you to hire a U.S.-licensed attorney specializing in trademark law to help guide you through the registration process.  The USPTO examining attorney is not your attorney and cannot give you legal advice, but rather works for and represents the USPTO in trademark matters.