United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 25 December 2001
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 Chief Operating Officer and
Executive Vice President of the United States Postal Service (USPS)
issued a memorandum temporarily and immediately suspending Express Mail
service to Washington, D.C., ZIP Codes 202xx through 205xx (e.g.,
20231). The USPTO is designating this interruption in the Express Mail
service of the USPS as a postal service interruption within the meaning
of 35 U.S.C. 21(a) and 37 CFR 1.6(e).
The USPTO is establishing the following address which may be
used (as an alternative to the address set out in 37 CFR 1.1) on an
emergency basis for patent-related correspondence being delivered to
the USPTO by the USPS's Express Mail service:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
P.O. Box 2327
Arlington, VA 22202
Special box designations (e.g., Box PCT) should be also
included in the address as appropriate.
To the extent that the address provided in this notice is
inconsistent with the address set forth in 37 CFR 1.1, the provisions
of 37 CFR 1.1 (and 37 CFR 1.8 and 1.10) are hereby sua sponte
waived such that correspondence addressed as set forth in this
notice will be treated as if it were addressed as set forth in 37 CFR
1.1 for purposes of 37 CFR 1.8 and 1.10.
Parties may continue to use the Washington, D.C. 20231
addresses for the purposes set out in 37 CFR 1.1 if such correspondence
is accepted by the USPS for delivery to the USPTO and is not returned
to the sender. If such correspondence is not accepted by the USPS or is
returned, it should be resubmitted to the USPTO using the procedure set
forth below.
The USPTO published a notice in the Official Gazette on October
9, 2001, that provides guidance in the situation in which a post office
refuses to accept the deposit of mail for delivery by Express Mail
service. See United States Postal Service Interruption and
Emergency, 1251 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 55 (Oct. 9, 2001). This
notice was also posted on the USPTO's Internet Web site
(http://www.uspto.gov/september11/uspsnotice01.htm). The guidance set
forth in that notice also applies if a post office refuses to accept
the deposit of correspondence for delivery by Express Mail due to the
suspension of the USPS's Express Mail service to Washington, D.C., ZIP
Code 20231, as well as the situation in which correspondence is
returned as undeliverable due to this suspension.
The guidance set forth in the above-mentioned Official Gazette
notice is reproduced below:
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS
RELATING TO EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE
Where the USPS refuses to accept the deposit of mail
for delivery by express mail.
In some cases, due to the recent emergency, certain post
offices are refusing to accept the deposit of mail for delivery by
Express Mail service. The USPTO is also designating this interruption
in the Express Mail service of the USPS as a postal service
interruption within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 21(a) and 37 CFR 1.6(e).
In addition, if a party attempts to deposit correspondence for delivery
to the USPTO with the USPS by Express Mail under 37 CFR 1.10
("Express Mail Post Office to Addressee") and the USPS refuses to
accept such correspondence, the party is advised to take the following
action: mail the correspondence to the USPTO by registered or first
class mail with a statement by the person who originally attempted to
deposit the correspondence with the USPS by Express Mail. The statement
must indicate the date on which the person attempted to deposit the
correspondence with the USPS and that the USPS refused to accept the
correspondence. The statement must be signed in accordance with 37 CFR
10.18. The correspondence should be mailed as set out in 37 CFR 1.1(a)
and include the special box designation: BOX FILING DATE.
Where mail is put into an Express Mail "Drop Box" and given an incorrect
"date in".
In some cases a person may use an Express Mail "drop box" without
realizing that the local post office is not accepting
Express Mail. In that situation, the provisions of 37 CFR 1.10(d) may
apply. Usually 37 CFR 1.10(d) is invoked where correspondence is placed
in an Express Mail "drop box" prior to the last pick up that is
scheduled for the drop box for that day, but the USPS enters an
incorrect "date-in" on the Express Mail mailing label, usually the
next day's date. To invoke 37 CFR 1.10(d), however, a petition must be
corroborated either by evidence from the USPS or by evidence that came
into being after deposit and within one business day of the deposit of
the correspondence in the Express Mail drop box (e.g., a copy of a log
book indicating that the correspondence was deposited on the date in
question). See MPEP 513 and TMEP 702.02(e).
Alternative Procedure Invoking "Extraordinary Circumstances"
If a party can demonstrate that due to extraordinary circumstances the
above procedures could not be followed, it will be
necessary to file a petition under 37 C.F.R. 1.183 (patent matter) or
2.146(a)(5) and 2.148 (trademark matter) to waive the requirements of
37 C.F.R. 1.10 to permit the USPTO to accord the correspondence a
filing date as of the date that Express Mail deposit was attempted.
Such a petition must be accompanied by a statement by the person who
originally attempted to deposit the correspondence with the USPS by
Express Mail, stating the date that the deposit was attempted and that
the USPS refused to accept the correspondence, and be signed by such
person subject to the conditions prescribed in 37 CFR 10.18.
Certificates of Mailing Under 37 CFR 1.8
Parties submitting correspondence to the USPTO are
reminded that 37 CFR 1.8 (certificate of mailing or transmission
practice) does not provide for according a filing date as of the date
of deposit with the USPS to correspondence submitted under 37 CFR 1.8.
Therefore, it would be inappropriate to file a petition under 37 CFR
1.183 or 2.146(a)(5) and 2.148 to waive the requirements of 37 CFR 1.8.
The address set forth in 37 CFR 1.1(a)(2)(i) for trademark
filings and correspondence is not affected by this suspension of
Express Mail service by the USPS (since it is not within Washington,
D.C., ZIP Codes 202xx through 205xx). Therefore, trademark filings and
correspondence should continue to be addressed to:
Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks
2900 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202-3513
Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Cynthia
Nessler, Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration at (703)
308-6906.
November 20, 2001 ANNE H. CHASSER
Acting Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Acting Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office