108    Filing Receipts

When a document intended for the Board is filed in the Office, it is possible to obtain a receipt evidencing the date of such filing.

Documents uploaded to ESTTA, the Board's electronic filing system, are deemed filed upon successful completion of transmission to the Board, including the receipt of any required fee. When documents are successfully filed online using ESTTA, the filer will receive an on-screen acknowledgement of the filing, including an ESTTA tracking number. The filer will also receive an email filing receipt including the ESTTA tracking number and filing information which includes the number of pages transmitted. [ Note 1.]. If the filer does not receive an on-screen acknowledgement and an email filing receipt, it should not assume that the paper has been successfully filed. Upon filing, the cover sheet for correspondence transmitted electronically through ESTTA is automatically affixed with the date the Office receives the complete transmission. Eastern Time controls the filing date. [ Note 2.] See TBMP § 110.09.

In the case of a document sent by mail, a receipt may be obtained by submitting with the document a stamped, self-addressed postcard with sufficient information to identify clearly the document, the party on whose behalf the paper is being filed, and the proceeding or application in connection with which the document is being filed. When the Office receives the document and the postcard, it will date-stamp both of them and mail the postcard back.

If a document intended for the Board is delivered by hand to the Trademark Assistance Center, see TBMP § 107, the receipt may take the form of a postcard bearing appropriate identifying information, or a duplicate copy of the document, or a duplicate copy of the transmittal letter with appropriate identifying information. The receipt and the document will be date-stamped and the receipt will be handed back to the person who delivered the paper.

NOTES:

 1.   Weider Publications, LLC v. D&D Beauty Care Co., 109 USPQ2d 1347, 1351 (TTAB 2014),appeal dismissed per stipulation, No. 2014-1461 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 10, 2014).

 2.   37 CFR § 2.195(a)(2). See http://estta.uspto.gov for instructions for filing via ESTTA.