Questions and Answers Concerning the
Suspension of the "Express Mail" Service of United States Postal Service
for mail addressed to ZIP Codes 202xx through 205xx
On Friday, November 16, 2001, the United States Postal Service (USPS) temporarily suspended Express Mail service to Washington, D.C., ZIP Codes 202xx through 205xx (e.g., 20231). On Tuesday, November 20, 2001, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) posted a notice on its Internet Web site (http://www.uspto.gov/september11/uspsmaildisrup.htm) establishing an Arlington, VA 22202 address for use on an emergency basis for patent-related correspondence being delivered to the USPTO by the USPS's Express Mail service. The USPTO received the following questions concerning the above-mentioned notice:
Question (1): If I mail a new patent application to the USPTO by Express Mail (Post Office to Addressee) using the Arlington, VA 22202 address (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 2327, Arlington, VA 22202), will the application get to the USPTO?
Answer: Yes. The patent application should get to the USPTO. The Arlington, VA 22202 address provided on the USPTO's Web site (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 2327, Arlington, VA 22202) is a USPTO P.O. box, and mail addressed to that P.O. box is just as likely to get to its destination (the USPTO's P.O. box) as mail addressed to the USPTO's Washington, DC address (the Washington, DC 20231 address) is to get to the USPTO.
Question (2): If I mail a new patent application to the USPTO by Express Mail (Post Office to Addressee) using the Arlington, VA 22202 address (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 2327, Arlington, VA 22202), what will be the filing date of that application?
Answer: The date indicated on the "date-in" portion of the Express Mail mailing label. 37 CFR 1.10(a) provides that correspondence received by the USPTO that was delivered by the USPS's Express Mail (Post Office to Addressee) service will be considered filed on the date of its deposit with the USPS (as shown by the "date-in" indicated in the Express Mail mailing label). 37 CFR 1.10(a) does not require that the correspondence be addressed in any particular manner (i.e., correspondence incorrectly addressed that is received by the USPTO and delivered by the USPS's Express Mail (Post Office to Addressee) service will still be considered filed on the date of its deposit with the USPS).
While 37 CFR 1.1 requires that patent-related correspondence be addressed to the USPTO's Washington, DC address, it does not provide for any sanction in the event that patent-related correspondence is not addressed to the USPTO's Washington, DC address. A party, however, may not (during usual circumstances) be able to take advantage of the provisions of 37 CFR 1.8 and 1.10(e) for patent-related correspondence not addressed to the USPTO's Washington, DC address.
Question (3): Can the USPTO change its rules of practice by posting a notice on its Internet Web site?
Answer: No. The USPTO, however, can suspend requirements of the regulations during extraordinary situations subject to such requirements as may be imposed. 37 CFR 1.183. Thus, the USPTO did not "change" the correspondence address set out in 37 CFR 1.1 from the USPTO's Washington, DC address (the Washington, DC 20231 address) to an Arlington, VA 22202 address. The USPTO simply provided that the requirement in 37 CFR 1.1 (and 37 CFR 1.8 and 1.10) that patent-related correspondence be addressed to the USPTO's Washington, DC address was suspended subject to the requirement that such correspondence be addressed to the Arlington, VA 22202 address provided on the USPTO's Web site (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 2327, Arlington, VA 22202). If the USPTO were to require that patent-related correspondence be addressed to the Arlington, VA 22202 address provided on the USPTO's Web site rather than the Washington, DC 20231 address (as opposed to simply permitting patent-related correspondence to be addressed to the Arlington, VA 22202 address provided on the USPTO's Web site as an alternative to the Washington, DC 20231 address.), the USPTO would need to amend the provisions of 37 CFR 1.1 to make such a change in practice.