| Trademark Information and Services |
Referenced Items (481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492) |
(488) New USPTO Policies Regarding
(1) Generation of Paper Copies of Trademark-Related Documents and
(2) Public Access to Existing Paper Copies of Trademark-Related Douments
USPTO Will Cease Creating Paper Copies of Various
Trademark Related Documents
Beginning on April 12, 2004, the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will no longer create paper copies
of certain trademark-related documents that are submitted to the USPTO
in electronic format. Additionally, on April 12, 2004, the USPTO will
cease to generate paper copies of certain trademark documents that the
USPTO creates, except for copies that are sent to recipients by mail.
Instead, USPTO employees, as well as interested members of the public,
will view these documents using the Trademark Image Capture and
Retrieval System (TICRS), a database that features images of the
documents associated with application and registration files.
Currently the USPTO creates paper copies of all documents that
are submitted or received electronically, and places these copies in
file wrappers. This practice is costly and time consuming, and is no
longer necessary: all documents for which printed copies are currently
created can be viewed in their original form in TICRS. When a document
is created electronically for a particular application or registration,
a copy of that document is automatically transferred to the TICRS file
for that application or registration. The TICRS files likewise include
scanned images of submissions pertaining to the application or
registration that were created on paper.
TICRS is available to all USPTO employees who are responsible
for reviewing submissions from, and transmitting official
correspondence to, trademark filers. Likewise, TICRS is also available,
free of charge, to all members of the public who visit the USPTO to
review papers submitted by the public or issued by the USPTO in
connection with trademark applications or registrations.
Ending the practice of printing paper copies of trademark
documents will result in cost savings, and will free staff to perform
more valuable services for USPTO customers.
The following are the documents for which paper copies will no
longer be generated:
Certain documents submitted via the Trademark Electronic
Application System, or TEAS, namely:
. Applications for Registration
. Preliminary Amendments
. Responses to Office Actions
. Amendments to Allege Use
. Requests for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use
. Declarations of Use under Section 8
. Declarations of Incontestability under Section 15
. Combined Declarations of Use and Incontestability under
Sections 8 & 15
. Combined Declarations of Use and Applications for Renewal under
Sections 8 & 9
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US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE |
1517 CNOG 3410 |
Changes of Address.
. Responses to Office Actions that are transmitted to the
Law Office ECom mailboxes.
. Informal communications to or from applicants or registrants
regarding applications or regarding post-registration matters
that are transmitted via e-mail.
. Office Actions and Appeal Briefs issued by Examining Attorneys.
However, paper copies of these Office Actions will be mailed to
applicants who have not authorized the Office to communicate
by e-mail.
. Office Actions issued by the Post Registration and Intent to
Use sections. However, paper copies of these Office Actions
will be mailed to applicants and registrants.
. Notices of Publication. However, paper copies of these notices
will be mailed to applicants.
. Notices of Allowance. However, paper copies of these notices
will be mailed to applicants.
. Certificates of Registration. However, paper certificates will
be mailed to applicants.
. Updated Registrations Certificates (URCs). However, paper URCs
will be mailed to applicants.
. Notices of Abandonment. However, paper copies of these notices
will be mailed to applicants.
. "Search Strategies" that show which queries an examining
attorney entered into the X-Search database in conducting a
search for conflicting marks; and
. Decisions on Requests to Withdraw as Attorney. However, paper
copies of these decisions will be mailed to applicants who have
not authorized the Office to communicate by e-mail.
Please also note the following:
When an application, or any submission pertaining to an
application, is made on paper, the USPTO will continue its existing
practice of placing the paper received in the paper file wrapper
created for the application. Additionally, until some later time, the
USPTO will continue to create paper file wrappers for all trademark
applications, including those applications for which no paper documents
exist. Currently, certain database maintenance transactions cannot be
completed without file wrappers.
The policy described herein applies only to the Trademark
Operation, including the Intent-to-Use, Post Registration, and
Publication and Issue units, and not to the Trademark Trial and Appeal
Board or the Assignment Services Division.
The USPTO will continue to provide certified paper copies of
all trademark documents, upon request and payment of the appropriate
fee.
Paper Components of Application Files will be Available Solely
through the Trademark Assistance Center
Currently, parties wishing to review the file wrappers that
| Top of Notices (488) December 26, 2023 |
US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE |
1517 CNOG 3411 |
contain the papers related to trademark applications may obtain these
files from the various offices at which the files are stored. Beginning
on April 12, 2004, parties may obtain these files only by submitting a
request to the Trademark Assistance Center. It is expected that
Trademark Assistance Center staff will provide the files within
approximately two hours from the time the files are requested. However,
there may be instances when a file is not immediately available.
The Trademark Assistance Center is located on the fourth
floor of 2900 Crystal Drive in Arlington Virginia. Its hours of
operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The new file access policy applies only to the Trademark
Operation, including the Intent-to-Use, Post Registration, and
Publication and Issue units, and not to the Trademark Trial and Appeal
Board.
Call the Trademark Assistance Center at 703.308.9000 for help on
trademark matters. Send questions about USPTO programs and services to
the USPTO Contact Center (UCC). You can suggest USPTO webpages or
material you would like featured on this section by E-mail to the
webmaster@uspto.gov. While we cannot promise to accommodate all requests,
your suggestions will be considered and may lead to other improvements
on the website.
[1281 TMOG 18]