Suspension Inquiry

Increase in Trademark Filing Fee

Effective January 1, 2003, the fee for filing an application for trademark registration will be increased to $335.00 per International Class.  The USPTO will not accept applications that are filed on or after that date that are not accompanied by a minimum of $335.00.

Additionally, the fee for amending an existing application to add an additional class or classes of goods/services will be $335.00 per class.

A Final Rule amending the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases to provide for this fee increase was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 70,847 (2002)). http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2002/02-30086.htm>

Change of Correspondence Address

Applicants may now file changes of correspondence via a new form on TEAS. Address changes may be performed on up to 20 cases at a time.  The Trademark Office strongly encourages applicants to use this timesaving form, which is available online at: http://eteas.gov.uspto.report/V2.0/ca200/WIZARD.htm

INFORMATION CONCERNING ELECTRONIC RESPONSES

If the applicant chooses to send an official response to this Office action via e-mail (to ecom108@uspto.gov), the applicant is advised that the response must:

(1) be in English;

(2) include the entire response as e-mail text, not as an attachment;

(3) list the serial number in the "Subject" line; and

(4) include any specimens or evidence in jpg or gif format only.

For security and compatibility reasons, the Office will not accept communications that include any attachments, other than those in jpg or gif format. Thus, no attachments in WordPerfect®, Word, Adobe® PDF or any other format EXCEPT jpg or gif can be accepted.

Additionally, all such communications sent via e-mail should (1) be signed electronically (using the same format accepted for electronically-filed applications, namely, the signatory must enter any combination of alpha/numeric characters that has been specifically adopted to serve the function of the signature, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol. Acceptable "signatures" could include: /john doe/; /jd/; and /123-4567/. (See 64 FR 33056, 33062 (June 21, 1999))); and (2) address every issue raised. Failure to comply with these additional requirements will result in delays in prosecuting your application.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS FOR MAILING TRADEMARK CORRESPONDENCE

To expedite processing, the Office encourages parties to file documents through the Trademark Electronic Application System, at http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html, wherever possible. 

Effective May 1, 2003, the mailing addresses for filing trademark-related documents on paper has changed.  See notices at 68 FR 19371 (April 21, 2003) and 68 FR 14332 (March 25, 2003). 

All trademark-related correspondence filed by mail, except for documents sent to the Assignment Services Division for recordation and requests for copies of trademark documents, should be addressed to:

Commissioner for Trademarks

2900 Crystal Drive

Arlington, Virginia  22202-3514

The mail box designations previously listed in TMEP §305.01 are no longer in use.

Requests to record documents in the Assignment Services Division can be filed electronically at http://etas.gov.uspto.report/.  Paper documents and cover sheets to be recorded in the Assignment Services Division should be sent to:

Mail Stop Assignment Recordation Services

Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

P. O. Box 1450

Alexandria VA  22313-1450

Copies of trademark documents can be ordered through the Office’s website at http://www.uspto.gov.  Requests for certified or uncertified copies of trademark documents filed on paper should be sent, with an authorization to charge the fee to a credit card or USPTO deposit account, to: 

Mail Stop Document Services

Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

P. O. Box 1450, Alexandria VA  22313-1450