United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 29 June 2004

                         Oversized Postcards Must Be
                       Submitted With Sufficient Postage

   Recently, a number of return receipt postcards have been
returned to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Office) because the
postcards contained insufficient postage for an oversized postcard.
Oversized postcards require First-Class letter postage. Customers are
reminded that they are solely responsible for placing the proper
postage on self-addressed postcards that are submitted to the Office
for the purpose of obtaining a receipt for correspondence being filed
in the Office.

   Customers should be aware of the following guidance from the
USPS regarding postage and acceptability for postcards:

   1. In order to be eligible for the First-Class Mail card rates
(currently $0.23 per card, domestic delivery), cards must be of uniform
thickness and made of unfolded and uncreased paper or card stock of
approximately the quality and weight of a Postal Service stamped card.
Cards claimed at the First-Class postcard rate must be:

   (a) Rectangular;

   (b) No less than 3-1/2 inches high, 5 inches long, and 0.007 inch
thick; and

   (c) No more than 4-1/4 inches high, 6 inches long, and 0.016 inch
thick.

   2. Cards that measure more than 4-1/4 inches high, 6 inches
long, or 0.016 inch thick are charged postage at the First-Class Mail
letter rates.

   3. Cards that measure less than 3-1/2 inches high, 5 inches
long, and 0.007 inch thick are nonmailable.

   Any return receipt postcard that does not contain sufficient
postage or is not acceptable may not be delivered by the United States
Postal Service (USPS) to the address provided on the postcard, and, if
returned to the Office, may be discarded.

   For information regarding the Office's postcard receipt
practice in patent-related matters, see Manual of Patent Examining
Procedure (MPEP) (8th Ed., Rev. 1, Feb. 2003), Section 503. Questions
regarding sufficient postage for postcards should be directed to the
United States Postal Service. Questions regarding this notice may be
e-mailed to PatentPractice@uspto.gov, or directed to the
Inventors' Assistance Center by telephone at (800)786-9199, or
(703)308-4357.

                                                            JOHN D. HASSETT
                                           Director Administrative Services