107    How and Where to File Papers and Fees

37 CFR § 2.195  Receipt of trademark correspondence.

  • (a) Date of receipt and Priority Mail Express® date of deposit. Trademark correspondence received in the Office is given a filing date as of the date of receipt except as follows:
    • (1) The Office is not open for the filing of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. Except for correspondence transmitted electronically under paragraph (a)(2) of this section or transmitted by facsimile under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, no correspondence is received in the Office on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of Columbia.
    • (2) Trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically will be given a filing date as of the date on which the Office receives the transmission.
    • (3) Correspondence transmitted by facsimile will be given a filing date as of the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Office unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, in which case the filing date will be the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.
    • (4) Correspondence filed in accordance with § 2.198 will be given a filing date as of the date of deposit as Priority Mail Express® with the United States Postal Service.
  • (b) Correspondence delivered by hand. Correspondence may be delivered by hand during hours the Office is open to receive correspondence.
  • (c) Facsimile transmission. Except in the cases enumerated in paragraph (d) of this section, correspondence, including authorizations to charge a deposit account, may be transmitted by facsimile. The receipt date accorded to the correspondence will be the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Office, unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See § 2.196. To facilitate proper processing, each transmission session should be limited to correspondence to be filed in a single application, registration or proceeding before the Office. The application serial number, registration number, or proceeding number should be entered as a part of the sender’s identification on a facsimile cover sheet.
  • (d) Facsimile transmissions are not permitted and if submitted, will not be accorded a date of receipt, in the following situations:
    • * * * *
    • (3) Correspondence to be filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, except notices of ex parte appeal;
    • * * * *
  • (e) Interruptions in U.S. Postal Service.
    • (1) If the Director designates a postal service interruption or emergency within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 21(a), any person attempting to file correspondence by Priority Mail Express® Post Office to Addressee service who was unable to deposit the correspondence with the United States Postal Service due to the interruption or emergency may petition the Director to consider such correspondence as filed on a particular date in the Office.
    • (2) The petition must:
      • (i) Be filed promptly after the ending of the designated interruption or emergency;
      • (ii) Include the original correspondence or a copy of the original correspondence; and
      • (iii) Include a statement that the correspondence would have been deposited with the United States Postal Service on the requested filing date but for the designated interruption or emergency in Priority Mail Express® service; and that the correspondence attached to the petition is the original correspondence or a true copy of the correspondence originally attempted to be deposited as Priority Mail Express® on the requested filing date.
    • (3) Paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section do not apply to correspondence that is excluded from the Priority Mail Express® procedure pursuant to § 2.198(a)(1).

The Board strongly encourages electronic filing using ESTTA for all submissions in Board proceedings. However, for those documents that are being delivered to the Office, the specific requirements are set out below.

Documents relating to proceedings before the Board, may be filed during regular office hours by hand delivery or by courier service to:

Trademark Assistance Center

James Madison Building - East Wing

Concourse Level, Room C55

600 Dulany Street

Alexandria,VA 22314

Such papers may also be filed by depositing them in the mail addressed to:

United States Patent and Trademark Office:

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

P.O. Box 1451

Alexandria,VA 22313-1451

With the exception of a notice of ex parte appeal to the Board, or in the absence of a specific request by the Board, documents to be filed with the Board may not be filed by facsimile transmission ("fax"). [ Note 1.] If documents other than the notice of appeal in an ex parte appeal are filed with the Board by fax transmission, they will not receive a filing date.

However, the Board will accept, and give filing dates to, documents that had been faxed to, for example, local counsel, when the fax copies are, in turn, properly filed by other means. [ Note 2.]

The Board does not accept any filings by email. For information on filing submissions via ESTTA, the Board’s electronic filing system, see TBMP § 110.09.

For information on how to pay fees, see TBMP § 118.

NOTES:

 1.   37 CFR § 2.195(d)(3). See, e.g., Vibe Records Inc. v. Vibe Media Group LLC, 88 USPQ2d 1280, 1283 (TTAB 2008) (facsimile filing of notice of opposition not accepted). A notice of ex parte appeal to the Board may be faxed to (571) 2730059, and may include a certificate of transmission pursuant to 37 CFR § 2.197  (Certificate of mailing or transmission). Although a notice of ex parte appeal may be filed by fax, filers are strongly urged to use ESTTA for the best and most expeditious service.

 2.   The Board retains the discretion to explicitly direct a party to file a paper by fax in individual circumstances for the convenience of the Board. Due to the availability of electronic filing through ESTTA, however, fax filing is rarely requested by the Board. In the event the Board directs a filing by fax, the filing party will be advised of the correct telephone number to use. The filer may include a certificate of transmission pursuant to 37 CFR § 2.197  (Certificate of mailing or transmission).