(198)             Special Boxes And "Fee/No Fee" Indicators 
                           For Trademark-Related Mail
                                      And 
               Guidelines For Filing Requests To Extend Time To Oppose 
                  With The Trademark Trial And Appeal Board (TTAB)
   
  On July 5, 1994, the Patent and Trademark Office opened a mailroom to
receive mail related to trademark applications, registrations and matters
before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the following addresses:

Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks
2900 Crystal Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513

   To facilitate mail-handling in the new mailroom, the special box
designations have been expanded so that incoming mail can be presorted
more efficiently. In addition to these box designations, filers are
encouraged to indicate whether the contents of an envelope contain a "FEE"
or "NO FEE." As shown below, the "FEE" and "NO FEE" indicators should be
set forth on the line below the box designation for easy visibility.
Envelopes will be batched based on the "FEE/NO FEE" indicator and box
designation and sent unopened to the appropriate employee in the Pre-exam
area for processing.
   The "SPECIAL BOXES FOR MAIL" page in the Official Gazette will be
changed. Please note that the "BOX 5" designation for "`No fee' mail
related to trademarks" has been discontinued. Furthermore, the box
designation "Box Trademark Application" has been changed to "BOX NEW APP."
   The following box designations and "FEE/NO FEE" indicators will now be
available:

BOX NEW
APP FEE         for any new trademark application. 
                [All applications require fees; therefore a "NO FEE" 
                indicator should not be used.

BOX ITU FEE     for papers such as Statements of Use (SOU), and
                extensions requests therefor, to be filled with the 
                Intent to Use (ITU)Unit.
                [All ITU papers require fees; therefore a "NO FEE" 
                indicator should not be used.

BOX TTAB
FEE             for papers such as oppositions, cancellation petitions and
                ex parte appeals filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal
                Board (TTAB).

BOX TTAB
NO FEE          for TTAB papers with no fee, such as extension requests,
                interferences and motions.

BOX STATUS 
NO FEE          for written status inquiries.
                [Status inquiries do not require a fee; therefore a "FEE" 
                indicator should not be used.

BOX POST
REG FEE         for post registration documents such as Section 8 
                affidavits and Section 9 renewals.

BOX RESPONSES 
NO FEE          for responses to Examining Attorneys'
                Office actions; and for responses to Post Registration 
                Examiners' rejections. 
   
   For best results, these box designations and "FEE/NO FEE" indicators
should appear on the envelope as well as on the cover sheet or first page
of any document. However, although not preferred procedure, filers may
continue to include documents destined for more than one location in a
single envelope, provided each document references the box designation and
"FEE/NO FEE" indicator on the cover sheet or first page of the document;
and provided each complete filing is stapled or secured in some fashion.
The envelope should list all the box designations and "FEE/NO FEE"
indicators for its contents.
   This notice does not apply to trademark-related documents intended for
recordation with the Assignment Branch or for requests for certified and
uncertified copies of trademark application and registration documents.
These papers and patent-related mail should continue to be sent to:
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, D.C. 20231.
   
   Labeling First Requests for Extensions of Time to Oppose
   
Although the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reports to the Office of the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Deputy Assistant Commissioner
of Patents and Trademarks, it is located and receives its mail at the
Arlington address of the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks. As noted
above, requests for extensions of time to oppose should be sent to BOX
TTAB, including the "NO FEE" indicator.
   Because first requests for extensions of time to oppose are critically
time-sensitive documents, filers are encouraged to indicate on the cover
sheet or first page of the extension request that the paper is a first
request. The suggested title for these documents is: First Request for
Extension of Time to File a Notice of Oppositions.
   
   
October 25, 1994                                     PHILIP G. HAMPTON, II
                                                    Assistant Commissioner
                                                            for Trademarks

                                [1168 TMOG 89]