`ESTTA328666
`ESTTA Tracking number:
`01/25/2010
`
`Filing date:
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`91193046
`Defendant
`Secure Medical, Inc.
`KENNETH C. BOOTH
`BOOTH UDALL, PLC
`1155 W. RIO SALADO PKWY SUITE 101
`TEMPE, AZ 85281-2826
`UNITED STATES
`trademark@boothudall.com
`Answer
`Kenneth C. Booth
`trademark@boothudall.com
`/Kenneth C. Booth/
`01/25/2010
`Answer to Notice of Opposition.pdf ( 18 pages )(72567 bytes )
`
`Proceeding
`Party
`
`Correspondence
`Address
`
`Submission
`Filer's Name
`Filer's e-mail
`Signature
`Date
`Attachments
`
`
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`Opposer,
`
`
`In re Application Serial No.: 77/519,559
`For the Mark: EDRUGSTORE.MD
`Date Published: October 27, 2009
`
`INTOUCH COMMUNICATIONS, LLC,
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`
`
`Applicant.
` )
`
`v.
`
`
`
`
`
`SECURE MEDICAL, INC.,
`
`
`Opposition No.
`
`
`91193046
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Applicant’s Answer to Notice of Opposition
`
`
`
`
`
`In response to the Notice of Opposition filed on December 16, 2009, Applicant Secure
`
`Medical, Inc. (hereinafter “Secure Medical”), by and through its undersigned counsel, answers
`
`the Notice of Opposition identified above as follows:
`
`1.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 1 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`2.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 2 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 2 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`3.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 3 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`/1/
`
`
`
`
`
`4.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 4 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`5.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 5 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`6.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 6 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`7.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 7 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`8.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 8 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph. Applicant specifically notes, however, that although a
`
`non-final office action dated September 24, 2008 rejected Applicant’s submission on July 10,
`
`2008 claiming acquired distinctiveness, the Examiner stated that while Applicant’s claim of
`
`ownership of a prior registration is insufficient evidence of acquired distinctiveness and
`
`apparently did not rely on the prior registration as support, additional evidence may be submitted
`
`to make such a showing. In a response to the non-final office action dated March 24, 2009,
`
`Applicant submitted a declaration from John Rao, President of Secure Medical, Inc. stating that
`
`over $1.75 million dollars has been spent in advertising and marketing efforts for its exclusive
`
`use or its licensed use to others of the mark EDRUGSTORE.MD since November, 2002 to
`
`establish recognition of the mark and its source of goods. The declaration further stated that the
`
`aforementioned marketing efforts resulted in a brand having sales of approximately $750,000 per
`
`month in total sales under that mark. In a subsequent office action dated August 12, 2009, the
`
`Examiner did not maintain this rejection and a Notice of Publication issued on October 27, 2009.
`
`/2/
`
`
`
`
`
`9.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 9 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 3 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant also
`
`specifically notes, however, that although the domain name may or may not have been purchased
`
`previously, the web site E-DRUGSTORE-MD.COM was made available to the public on
`
`February 2, 2004 as an affiliate under an affiliate program licensed by EDRUGSTORE.MD and
`
`did not use the trademark EDRUGSTORE.MD on the site except to identify Applicant and to
`
`direct customers to Applicant’s web site with the statement, “Click here to enter our Online
`
`Pharmacy – eDrugstore.md”. Both the “here” and “eDrugstore.md” words included a hyperlink
`
`to Applicant’s web site at www.edrugstore.md.
`
`10.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 10 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that InTouch Communications was an affiliate for Applicant but currently is without
`
`knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations
`
`of paragraph 10 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`11.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 11 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that a person who used the name Thomas Parker was at one time the Affiliate Manager of
`
`EDRUGSTORE.MD but currently is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a
`
`belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations of paragraph 11 and therefore denies those
`
`allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`12.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 12 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that InTouch Communications was an affiliate for Applicant for a time but currently is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining
`
`allegations of paragraph 12 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`/3/
`
`
`
`
`
`13.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 13 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 13 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`14.
`
`Applicant does not object to Opposer’s incorporation by reference of the allegations of
`
`Paragraphs 1 through 13 of the Notice of Opposition and admits or denies these allegations in
`
`accordance with Applicant’s response to these allegations addressed above.
`
`15.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 15 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that Applicant’s purported predecessors abandoned any rights to the mark prior to the
`
`June 12, 2008 assignment of the mark to Applicant.
`
`16.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 16 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 16 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`17.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 17 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 17 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`18.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 18 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 18 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`19.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 19 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 19 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`/4/
`
`
`
`
`
`20.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 20 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 20 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`21.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 21 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 21 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`22.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 22 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`23.
`
`Applicant does not object to Opposer’s incorporation by reference of Paragraphs 1-22 of
`
`the Notice of Opposition and admits or denies these allegations in accordance with Applicant’s
`
`response to these allegations addressed above.
`
`24.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 24 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that Applicant cannot claim exclusive use of the trademark and is without knowledge or
`
`information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations of paragraph 24
`
`and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`25.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 25 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 25 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`26.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 26 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 26 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`/5/
`
`
`
`
`
`27.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 27 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 27 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`28.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 28 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that Applicant did not challenge Vision Medical’s use of the domain
`
`www.edrugstores.com but is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to
`
`the truth of the allegations of paragraph 28 and therefore denies the remaining allegations and
`
`demands proof thereof.
`
`29.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 29 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 29 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`30.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 30 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 30 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`31.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 31 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that it had any affiliates in November 2008 and denies that it has allowed and acquiesced
`
`to any use of a mark confusingly similar to Applicant’s mark. Applicant is without knowledge
`
`or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations of paragraph
`
`30 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`32.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 32 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations that the trademark cannot have developed acquired distinctiveness, that
`
`Applicant has allowed, acquiesced and consented to third party uses of the term in a manner that
`
`creates a likelihood of consumer confusion as to the source of Applicant’s products and services,
`
`/6/
`
`
`
`
`
`that prospective purchasers cannot possibly identify the Applicant as the source of goods or
`
`services offered under the applied-for mark, and that the mark cannot function as a trademark. In
`
`response to the remaining allegations, Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient
`
`to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations of paragraph 32 and therefore denies
`
`those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`33.
`
`Applicant does not object to Opposer’s incorporation by reference of the allegations of
`
`Paragraphs 1 through 32 of the Notice of Opposition and admits or denies these allegations in
`
`accordance with Applicant’s response to these allegations addressed above.
`
`34.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 34 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations Applicant has no right in the EDRUGSTORE.MD mark and that the
`
`assignment of U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,935,610 effected on June 12, 2008 was void ab
`
`initio.
`
`35.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 35 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`36.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 36 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations that Applicant has no right in the EDRUGSTORE.MD mark and that U.S.
`
`Trademark Registration No. 2,935,610 was procured with fraudulent information.
`
`37.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 37 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`38.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 38 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 38 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`/7/
`
`
`
`
`
`39.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 39 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that the application for U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,935,610 was signed on
`
`October 21, 2003. Rather, Applicant notes that the application for U.S. Trademark Registration
`
`No. 2,935,610 was signed on October 27, 2003by Richard Porter who listed his title as Director
`
`of Crown Trade & Investment, Inc. As to the remaining allegations of paragraph 39, Applicant
`
`is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations
`
`of paragraph 39 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`40.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 40 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that applicant was asked to provide details regarding the existence of the Crown Trade &
`
`Investment, Inc. company or its registration number, but admits that no information regarding
`
`such was sent by Applicant. Applicant notes, however, for the Record, that Applicant’s Attorney
`
`of Record was asked verbally if Applicant had any information regarding the whereabouts or
`
`identity of the principals of Crown Trade & Investment, Inc. to which Applicant’s Attorney of
`
`Record responded to the verbal request with a verbal answer that Applicant did not have such
`
`information and that Opposer should submit such requests in writing to be clear about what he
`
`was seeking. Applicant notes that Applicant did not receive any written request for information
`
`to clarify the previous verbal request and still does not have any additional information about the
`
`whereabouts or identity of the principals.
`
`41.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 41 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 41 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`42.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 42 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`/8/
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`
`
`
`
`43.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 43 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegation that the assignment recorded against U.S. Trademark Registration No.
`
`2,935,610 is null and void.
`
`44.
`
`Applicant requests a denial of Opposer’s requests for a declaration of invalidity of U.S.
`
`Trademark Registration No. 2,935,619 and a denial of Opposer’s request for its removal from the
`
`Register because such a request by Opposer is inappropriate here.
`
`45.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 45 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`46.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 46 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`47.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 47 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph. However, Applicant notes that the Declaration filed on
`
`March 24, 2009 also states that “Secure Medical, Inc., or the previous owner of the trademark
`
`(collectively “Secure Medical”), has had exclusive use of the trademark in the United States
`
`since at least as early November 24, 2002.”
`
`48.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 48 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that the EDRUGSTORE.MD affiliate agreement that existed from December 2002 to
`
`May 2008 is silent on the matter of Applicant’s mark. However, Applicant notes that while no
`
`written trademark licensing agreement existed, the affiliate agreement and the approval process
`
`for an unrelated business entity to become an affiliate created an implied trademark license
`
`because affiliates were allowed to use the mark for the purpose of directing web traffic to
`
`Applicant’s website. Applicant further notes that Applicant’s Attorney of Record attempted to
`
`access the DirectTrack.com server at the URL provided in paragraph 48 of the Notice of
`
`/9/
`
`
`
`
`
`Opposition and received an error message stating that the site was forbidden and that the page
`
`does not exist. Thus, in response to the remaining allegations of paragraph 48, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining
`
`allegations of paragraph 48 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`49.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 49 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`50.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 50 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`51.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 51 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 51 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes
`
`that the Traffic Rank data provided in paragraph 51 of the Notice of Opposition is inconsistent
`
`with Applicant’s own data.
`
`52.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 52 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 52 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes,
`
`however, that ACCESSRX.COM is a separate site and does not include any hyperlinks to the
`
`EDRUGSTORE.MD site or even any reference to the EDRUGSTORE.MD site.
`
`53.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 53 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 53, the accuracy of the compete.com site or the method by which the data is gathered,
`
`and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes, however,
`
`that paragraph 53 attempts to make a comparison between the number of unique visitors to
`
`/10/
`
`
`
`
`
`Applicant’s website as recorded by Compete.com and the number of page views per month as
`
`stated by Applicant. Applicant notes that these two types of data are not analogous and
`
`therefore, the comparison set forth in paragraph 53 is meaningless.
`
`54.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 54 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 54 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes,
`
`however, that Quantcast itself acknowledges that its numbers are only a “rough estimate” and
`
`shows that for February, 2009, the visitors reached 16,200 visitors and that in December, 2009
`
`the visitors numbers reached over 8,500 visitors so that apparently the rough estimate numbers
`
`provided by Quantcast fluctuates significantly from month to month.
`
`55.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 55 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes that consistent with
`
`Applicant's declaration, Applicant’s sales under the EDRUGSTORE.MD mark consistently total
`
`approximately $750,000 per month based on an average of monthly sales. Applicant further
`
`notes that the Declaration submitted to the PTO indicated that “To my best knowledge, the
`
`previous owner of the EDRUGSTORE.MD trademark spent an average of $25,000 per month on
`
`advertising marketing each month from 2003-June, 2008.” The Declaration also stated, “on
`
`average Secure Medical spends approximately $13,000 per month on advertising marketing for
`
`the EDRUGSTORE.MD mark since June, 2008” and the Declaration was signed March 24,
`
`2009. Applicant further notes that the Quantcast.com screenshot sent by Opposer is illegible and
`
`requests that a legible screenshot image be sent. Regardless, a drop in website traffic is not
`
`necessarily indicative of a reduction in advertising expenditures as factors other than advertising
`
`/11/
`
`expenditures affect website traffic.
`
`
`
`
`
`56.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 56 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations and demands proof thereof. Applicant notes that Applicant’s declaration
`
`states that “Secure Medical, Inc., or the previous owner of the trademark (collectively “Secure
`
`Medical”), has had exclusive use of the trademark in the United States since at least as early
`
`November 24, 2002.” Thus, Applicant denies that any false statements were made in the
`
`Declaration under 37 C.F.R. § 2.20 that was filed on March 24, 2009.
`
`57.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 57 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that Applicant’s U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/519,559 published on the
`
`Principal Register. In response to the remaining allegations, Applicant denies the remaining
`
`allegations of paragraph 57.
`
`58.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 58 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`59.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 59 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`60.
`
`Applicant does not object to Opposer’s incorporation by reference of Paragraphs 1-59 of
`
`the Notice of Opposition and admits or denies these allegations in accordance with Applicant’s
`
`response to these allegations addressed above.
`
`61.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 61 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits the allegations of this paragraph.
`
`62.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 62 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that combining “E” with the term “DRUGSTORE” is clearly a generic term for a service
`
`that facilitates web-based transactions between pharmacies and consumers.
`
`/12/
`
`
`
`
`
`63.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 63 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of
`
`paragraph 63 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`64.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 64 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that newspapers use the term EDRUGSTORE generically for an online store where
`
`prescriptions are filled and medicines are sold. Applicant admits the existence of the Sept. 20,
`
`1999 article titled “Your Friendly Neighborhood E-Drugstore.”
`
`65.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 65 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that magazine articles use the term EDRUGSTORE generically for an online store where
`
`prescriptions are filled and drugs and other articles are sold. Applicant admits the existence of
`
`the May 11, 2005 Barron’s article titled “Bill Gates’ Wife Likes E-Drugstore.”
`
`66.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 66 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that “.md” is a top level domain country code designation for the Republic of Moldova,
`
`but Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of
`
`the allegations of paragraph 66 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`67.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 67 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that an extension on a domain name has no trademark significance and that the public
`
`would not understand EDRUGSTORE.MD would have any meaning apart from the meaning of
`
`the individual words combined. As to the remaining allegations of paragraph 67, Applicant is
`
`without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth and therefore denies
`
`those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`68.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 68 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that EDRUGSTORE.MD is merely a generic term combined with a top level domain
`
`/13/
`
`
`
`
`
`indicator, denies that EDRUGSTORE.MD has no source-identifying significance, denies that the
`
`mark is generic and denies that the mark is unregisterable.
`
`69.
`
`Applicant does not object to Opposer’s incorporation by reference of Paragraphs 1-68 of
`
`the Notice of Opposition and admits or denies these allegations in accordance with Applicant’s
`
`response to these allegations addressed above.
`
`70.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 70 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that Applicant’s undersigned attorney, Kenneth C. Booth sent a letter on July 29, 2008 to
`
`Opposer stating: “Secure Medical, Inc. recently purchased and now owns the entire right, title
`
`and interest in the federally registered trademark EDRUGSTORE.MD (Federal Reg. Serial No.
`
`2,935,610; Direct Link www.ptodirect.com/tm/?76583605; pending application Serial No.
`
`77/497,211; Direct Link: www.ptodirect.com/tm/?77497211; and pending application Serial No.
`
`77/519,559; Direct Link: www.ptodirect.com/tm/?77519559) and all goodwill and rights
`
`associated with that trademark.” Applicant also admits that the July 29, 2008 letter insisted that
`
`Opposer transfer to Applicant “the control and ownership of the domain name E-DRUGSTORE-
`
`MD.com ….”
`
`71.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 71 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that John Rao is President of Secure Medical and that on September 17, 2008 John Rao
`
`sent a copy of the July 29, 2008 letter referenced in paragraph 18 by email to
`
`abuse@GoDaddy.com regarding the domain E-DRUGSTORE-MD.com. Applicant admits that
`
`the email stated “To whom it may concern RE; www.viagraworldwide.com and www.e-
`
`drugstore-md.com Please insure that these two websites stop all attempts to infringe on our
`
`copyright by restricting any hosting of these illegal sites, Thank you ….” As to the remaining
`
`/14/
`
`
`
`
`
`allegations of paragraph 71, Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a
`
`belief as to their truth and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`72.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 72 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`admits that Richard Bernstein is an employee of Secure Medical and that on October 6, 2009
`
`Richard Bernstein sent an email to trademarkclaims@secureserver.net with the subject line
`
`“Trademark Violation” that said, “The company I work for, Secure Medical, owns the trademark
`
`Edrugstore.md. I have attached a legal letter from our attorney’s that was sent to e-drugsotre-
`
`md.com. We sent the trademark infringement letter on July 24th, 2008 and have not heard
`
`anything from the owners at e-drugstore-md.com.” “The whois.net information listed
`
`Godaddy.com as the point of contact: http://whois.net/whois_new.cgi?d=e-drugstore-
`
`md&tld=com.” Applicant also particularly notes that Richard Bernstein received an email on
`
`October 6, 2009 from help.desk@hostdime.com with the subject line “Abuse” that said, “Hello,
`
`Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Normally, in this situation, we require that a hard
`
`copy be sent via regular mail to ensure authenticity, however, online pharmacies are in violation
`
`of our terms of service. I went ahead and suspended the site in question.” As to the remaining
`
`allegations of paragraph 72, Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a
`
`belief as to their truth and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`73.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 73 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that it knew Health Solutions Network, Inc. was an advertiser on the E-Drugstore-
`
`MD.com web site. Applicant admits that Applicant’s undersigned attorney, Kenneth C. Booth
`
`sent a letter on January 9, 2009 to Health Solutions Network, Inc. insisting that they “Ensure that
`
`the control and ownership of the domain name E-DRUGSTORE-MD.com and any other domain
`
`names you own or control that are confusingly similar to EDRUGSTORE.MD are transferred to
`
`/15/
`
`
`
`
`
`Secure Medical.” As to the remaining allegations of paragraph 73, Applicant is without
`
`knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth and therefore denies those
`
`allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`74.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 74 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that it has unlawfully disparaged or tortiously interfered with Opposer’s contracts and that
`
`Applicant’s actions have caused any irreparable injury to Opposer. Applicant is without
`
`knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations
`
`of paragraph 74 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`75.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 75 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/519,559 (the “Mark”) is causing injury to
`
`Opposer, denies that U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/519,559 is inconsistent with
`
`Opposer’s rights, and denies that registration of U.S. Trademark Application Serial No.
`
`77/519,559 will cause any injury to Opposer. Applicant admits that registration of U.S.
`
`Trademark Application Serial No. 77/519,559 constitutes prima facie evidence of the rights of
`
`Applicant under 15 U.S.C. 1057(b). Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to
`
`form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations of paragraph 75 and therefore denies
`
`those allegations and demands proof thereof.
`
`76.
`
`In response to the allegations of paragraph 76 of the Notice of Opposition, Applicant
`
`denies that U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/519,559 is causing injury to Opposer.
`
`Applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
`
`remaining allegations of paragraph 76 and therefore denies those allegations and demands proof
`
`/16/
`
`
`
`thereof.
`
`
`
`
`
`WHEREFORE, Applicant respectfully requests that the Board dismiss this cancellation
`
`proceeding in its entirety and that Applicant’s Mark remain in good standing.
`
`Respectfully,
`
`
`
`_/Kenneth C. Booth/ signed___
`Kenneth C. Booth
`Reg. No. 42,342
`Booth Udall, PLC
`1155 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Ste. 101
`Tempe, AZ 85281
`
`Attorneys for Applicant
`
`
`
`Date: January 25, 2010
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`/17/
`
`
`
`
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`I hereby certify that a true and complete copy of the foregoing:
`
`
`
`
`
`APPLICANT’S ANSWER TO NOTICE OF OPPOSITION
`
`has been mailed, first-class postage prepaid on January 25, 2010, to Opposer:
`
`Michael Davis
`INTOUCH COMMUNICATIONS LLC
`108 W. 13th Street
`Wilmington, DE 19801
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`_/Chantal Martin/ signed________
`Chantal Martin
`IP Legal Assistant
`
`
`
`January 25, 2010___
`Date
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`/18/