United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 21 October 2003

          Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on
         Thursday, September 18, 2003, and Friday, September 19, 2003

   In view of the official closing of the Federal Government
offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), on Thursday, September 18,
2003, and Friday, September 19, 2003, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office will consider Thursday, September 18, 2003, and
Friday, September 19, 2003, a "Federal holiday within the District of
Columbia" under 35 U.S.C.    21 and 37 C.F.R.      1.6, 1.7, 1.9,
2.2(d), 2.195, and 2.196. Any action or fee due on Thursday, September
18, 2003, or Friday, September 19, 2003, will be considered as timely
for the purposes of, e.g., 35 U.S.C.      119, 120, 133 and 151, if the
action is taken, or the fee is paid, on the next succeeding business
day on which the USPTO was open, that is, Monday, September 22, 2003.

   37 C.F.R.      1.6(a)(2) and 2.195(a)(4) provide that correspondenc
deposited as Express Mail in accordance with 37 C.F.R.    1.10 or 2.198
will be considered as filed on the date of deposit with the United
States Postal Service (USPS). Thus, any paper or fee properly deposited
in accordance with 37 C.F.R.    1.10 or 2.198 with the Express Mail
service of the USPS on Thursday, September 18, 2003, or Friday,
September 19, 2003 (that is, as shown by a "date-in" of Thursday,
September 18, 2003, or Friday, September 19, 2003, on the Express Mail
mailing label) will be considered filed in the USPTO on its date of
deposit in the Express Mail service of the USPS. 37 C.F.R.
2.195(a)(2) provides that trademark-related correspondence transmitted
electronically to the USPTO will be considered filed in the USPTO on
the date the USPTO receives the electronic transmission. Thus,
trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically on
Thursday, September 18, 2003, and/or Friday, September 19, 2003, will
be considered filed in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received the
electronic transmission. Correspondence successfully received by the
USPTO through the patent Electronic Filing System will receive the date
as indicated on the Acknowledgment Receipt.

September 23, 2003                                           JAMES E. ROGAN
                                            Under Secretary of Commerce for
                                                  Intellectual Property and
                                   Director of the United States Patent and
                                                           Trademark Office