302 Trademark Correspondence and Signature Requirements - In General
37 C.F.R. § 2.193 Trademark correspondence and signature requirements.
- (a) Signature required. Each piece of correspondence that requires a signature must bear:
- (1) A handwritten signature personally signed in permanent ink by the person named as the signatory, or a true copy thereof; or
- (2) An electronic signature that meets the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section, personally entered by the person named as the signatory. The Office will accept an electronic signature that meets the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section on correspondence filed on paper, by facsimile transmission (§ 2.195(c)), or through TEAS or ESTTA.
- (b) Copy of original signature. If a copy, such as a photocopy or facsimile copy of an original signature is filed, the filer should retain the original as evidence of authenticity. If a question of authenticity arises, the Office may require submission of the original.
- (c) Requirements for electronic signature. A person signing a document electronically must:
- (1) Personally enter any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and/or punctuation marks that he or she has adopted as a signature, placed between two forward slash ("/") symbols in the signature block on the electronic submission; or
- (2) Sign the document using some other form of electronic signature specified by the Director.
- (d) Signatory must be identified. The name of the person who signs a document in connection with a trademark application, registration, or proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board must be set forth in printed or typed form immediately below or adjacent to the signature, or identified elsewhere in the filing (e.g., in a cover letter or other document that accompanies the filing).
- (e) Proper person to sign. Documents filed in connection with a trademark application or registration must be signed by a proper person. Unless otherwise specified by law, the following requirements apply:
- (1) Verified statement of facts. A verified statement in support of an application for registration, amendment to an application for registration, allegation of use under § 2.76 or § 2.88, request for extension of time to file a statement of use under § 2.89, or an affidavit under section 8, 12(c), 15, or 71 of the Act must satisfy the requirements of § 2.2(n), and be signed by the owner or a person properly authorized to sign on behalf of the owner. A person who is properly authorized to verify facts on behalf of an owner is:
- (i) A person with legal authority to bind the owner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership);
- (ii) A person with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on behalf of the owner; or
- (iii) An attorney as defined in § 11.1 of this chapter who has an actual written or verbal power of attorney or an implied power of attorney from the owner.
- (2) Responses, amendments to applications, requests for express abandonment, requests for reconsideration of final actions, and requests to divide. Responses to Office actions, amendments to applications, requests for express abandonment, requests for reconsideration of final actions, and requests to divide must be signed by the owner of the application or registration, someone with legal authority to bind the owner (e.g. a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner qualified to practice under § 11.14 of this chapter, in accordance with the following guidelines:
- (i) If the owner is represented by a practitioner qualified to practice before the Office under § 11.14 of this chapter, the practitioner must sign, except where the owner is required to sign the correspondence; or
- (ii) If the owner is not represented by a practitioner qualified to practice under § 11.14 of this chapter, the individual owner or someone with legal authority to bind the owner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership) must sign. In the case of joint owners who are not represented by a qualified practitioner, all must sign.
- (3) Powers of attorney and revocations of powers of attorney. Powers of attorney and revocations of powers of attorney must be signed by the individual applicant, registrant or party to a proceeding pending before the Office, or by someone with legal authority to bind the applicant, registrant, or party (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership). In the case of joint applicants, registrants, or parties, all must sign. Once the applicant, registrant or party has designated a qualified practitioner(s), the named practitioner may sign an associate power of attorney appointing another qualified practitioner(s) as an additional person(s) authorized to prosecute the application or registration. If the applicant, registrant, or party revokes the original power of attorney, the revocation discharges any associate power signed by the practitioner whose power has been revoked. If the practitioner who signed an associate power withdraws, the withdrawal discharges any associate power signed by the withdrawing practitioner upon acceptance of the request for withdrawal by the Office.
- (4) Petitions to revive under § 2.66. A petition to revive under § 2.66 must be signed by someone with firsthand knowledge of the facts regarding unintentional delay.
- (5) Petitions to Director under § 2.146. A petition to the Director under § 2.146 must be signed by the petitioner, someone with legal authority to bind the petitioner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner qualified to practice under § 11.14 of this chapter, in accordance with the following guidelines:
- (i) If the petitioner is represented by a practitioner qualified to practice before the Office under § 11.14 of this chapter, the practitioner must sign; or
- (ii) If the petitioner is not represented by a practitioner authorized to practice before the Office under § 11.14 of this chapter, the individual petitioner or someone with legal authority to bind the petitioner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership) must sign. In the case of joint petitioners, all must sign.
- (6) Requests for correction, amendment or surrender of registrations. A request for correction, amendment or surrender of a registration must be signed by the owner of the registration, someone with legal authority to bind the owner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner qualified to practice before the Office under § 11.14 of this chapter. In the case of joint owners who are not represented by a qualified practitioner, all must sign.
- (7) Renewal applications. A renewal application must be signed by the registrant or the registrant’s representative.
- (8) Designations and revocations of domestic representative. A designation or revocation of a domestic representative must be signed by the applicant or registrant, someone with legal authority to bind the applicant or registrant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner qualified to practice under § 11.14 of this chapter. In the case of joint applicants or registrants, all must sign.
- (9) Requests to change correspondence address in an application or registration. A notice of change of correspondence address in an application or registration must be signed by the applicant or registrant, someone with legal authority to bind the applicant or registrant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or a practitioner qualified to practice under § 11.14 of this chapter, in accordance with the following guidelines:
- (i) If the applicant or registrant is represented by a practitioner qualified to practice before the Office under § 11.14 of this chapter, the practitioner must sign; or
- (ii) If the applicant or registrant is not represented by a practitioner qualified to practice before the Office under § 11.14, the individual applicant or registrant or someone with legal authority to bind the applicant or registrant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership) must sign. In the case of joint applicants or joint registrants, all must sign.
- (10) Cover letters. A person transmitting paper documents to the Office may sign a cover letter or transmittal letter. The Office neither requires cover letters nor questions the authority of a person who signs a communication that merely transmits paper documents.
- (1) Verified statement of facts. A verified statement in support of an application for registration, amendment to an application for registration, allegation of use under § 2.76 or § 2.88, request for extension of time to file a statement of use under § 2.89, or an affidavit under section 8, 12(c), 15, or 71 of the Act must satisfy the requirements of § 2.2(n), and be signed by the owner or a person properly authorized to sign on behalf of the owner. A person who is properly authorized to verify facts on behalf of an owner is:
- (f) Signature as certification. The presentation to the Office (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) of any document by any person, whether a practitioner or non-practitioner, constitutes a certification under § 11.18(b) of this chapter. Violations of § 11.18(b) of this chapter may jeopardize the validity of the application or registration, and may result in the imposition of sanctions under § 11.18(c) of this chapter. Any practitioner violating § 11.18(b) of this chapter may also be subject to disciplinary action. See § 11.18(d) and § 11.804 of this chapter.
- (g) Separate copies for separate files.
- (1) Since each file must be complete in itself, a separate copy of every document to be filed in connection with a trademark application, registration, or inter partes proceeding must be furnished for each file to which the document pertains, even though the contents of the documents filed in multiple files may be identical.
- (2) Parties should not file duplicate copies of correspondence in a single application, registration, or proceeding file, unless the Office requires the filing of duplicate copies. The Office may dispose of duplicate copies of correspondence.
- (h) Separate documents for separate branches of the Office. Since different branches or sections of the Office may consider different matters, each distinct subject, inquiry or order must be contained in a separate document to avoid confusion and delay in answering correspondence.
- (i) Certified documents required by statute. When a statute requires that a document be certified, a copy or facsimile transmission of the certification is not acceptable.
The USPTO recommends that all trademark correspondence be filed through TEAS. See TMEP §301. Trademark correspondence may also be sent through the United States Postal Service ("USPS"), delivered by a courier service, or hand carried to the USPTO. Except for documents listed in TMEP §306.01, correspondence may be transmitted by facsimile ("fax"). (Note that an application for registration of a mark may notbe filed by fax. 37 C.F.R. §§2.195(d)(1), 2.197(a)(2) ). Certain informal communications may be conducted through electronic mail ("e-mail") ( TMEP §304.01).
See TMEP §§304–304.03 regarding e-mail, TMEP §§305–305.04 regarding mailing documents to the USPTO, TMEP §§306–306.06 regarding fax transmission, and TMEP §307 regarding hand delivery.
An applicant, registrant, or attorney may sign an official Trademark communication by personally entering a "symbol," comprising any combination of letters, numbers, spaces, and/or punctuation marks, that he or she has adopted as a signature between two forward slashes ("/"). See 37 C.F.R. §2.193(c) and TMEP §611.01(c).
A scanned image of a document with a handwritten signature is also acceptable, as long as the image is attached in .jpg or .pdf format.
The use of an electronic signature under 37 C.F.R. §2.193(c) or an "/s/" notation on a communication constitutes a certification under 37 C.F.R. §11.18(b), and will be understood to mean, that:
- (1) The correspondence has been read by the applicant, registrant, or attorney;
- (2) The filing of the correspondence is authorized;
- (3) To the best of the signatory’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, there is good ground to support the correspondence; and
- (4) The correspondence is not presented for purposes of delay.
The signatory must personally sign the communication. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(c)(1); see TMEP §§611.01(b), 611.01(c), and 611.02.
302.01 Original Documents Generally Not Required
When a party files a copy of a document related to an application or registration, the USPTO will normally not require the party to submit the original document. Copies (e.g., photocopies or fax transmissions) are acceptable unless a document is required by statute to be certified (e.g., a certified copy of a final court order pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1119). However, the party who filed the copy should retain the original in case questions arise as to the authenticity of the signature on the photocopy or faxed correspondence. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(b).
Original certificates of registration are not required for requests for amendment or correction of a registration under §7 of the Trademark Act, and owners are strongly discouraged from submitting them. TMEP §§1609.01(b), 1609.10.
302.02 Multiple Copies of Documents Should Not Be Filed
37 C.F.R. §2.193(g)(2)
Parties should not file duplicate copies of correspondence in a single application, registration, or proceeding file, unless the Office requires the filing of duplicate copies. The Office may dispose of duplicate copies of correspondence.
As a general rule, only one copy of each document should be filed, unless more than one copy is specifically required by statute or rule, or a USPTO employee specifically requests more than one copy.
When filing a document electronically or by fax, a party should notsend a follow-up copy unless the USPTO specifically requests a follow-up copy. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(g)(2). Submission of duplicate documents can delay processing. See In re Allegiance Staffing, 115 USPQ2d 1319, 1323 (TTAB 2015)(discouraging the submission of duplicate filings because "it merely adds to the bulk of the file and makes it more difficult to review the submissions").
302.03 Identifying the Nature of Documents Filed
302.03(a) Correspondence Pertaining to Trademark Applications
Documents filed through TEAS or ESTTA are automatically transmitted to the appropriate location and entered into the record of the appropriate application or Board proceeding.
For paper documents, to ensure the timely entry into the official record, every piece of correspondence filed in the USPTO pertaining to a trademark application should be identified at the beginning by a heading or caption and by the serial number of the application, the name of the applicant, and the mark to which the document pertains. 37 C.F.R. §2.194(b)(1). Cover letters and transmittal letters should identify the material that they accompany.
To expedite processing, all incoming documents pertaining to an application should include the following identifying data:
- (1) Serial number;
- (2) Filing date;
- (3) Mark;
- (4) A title indicating the nature of the document;
- (5) Law office (identified in the most recent Office action);
- (6) Name of examining attorney identified on the most recent Office action;
- (7) Issuance date of the Office action to which the document is in response, if applicable;
- (8) The name, address (including ZIP code), and telephone number of the applicant or the applicant’s attorney; and
- (9) The applicant’s or attorney’s e-mail address.
To facilitate the matching of responses to Office actions with the correct records, examining attorneys’ Office actions issued on paper include peel-off response labels that reference the application serial number, the mark and the assigned law office. If filing a response on paper, the applicant is encouraged to affix this label to the upper right-hand corner of the response.
302.03(b) Correspondence Pertaining to Trademark Registrations
Documents filed through TEAS or ESTTA are automatically transmitted to the appropriate location and entered into the record of the appropriate registration or Board proceeding.
For paper filings, correspondence relating to a registered trademark should identify the registration by specifying the mark, the registrant’s name, and the registration number. 37 C.F.R. §2.194(b)(2).
Paper correspondence filed under 15 U.S.C. §§1057, 1058, 1059, and 1141k should be directed to the Post Registration Section of the Office.
Paper petitions to cancel a registered mark should be directed to the Board. TMEP §1607.
Court orders relating to registered trademarks should be sent to the Office of the Solicitor. TMEP §1610.