106.02 Signature of Submissions
37 C.F.R. § 2.119(e) Every submission filed in an inter partes proceeding, and every request for an extension of time to file an opposition, must be signed by the party filing it, or by the party’s attorney or other authorized representative, but an unsigned submission will not be refused consideration if a signed copy is submitted to the Office within the time limit set in the notification of this defect by the Office.
37 C.F.R. § 11.14(e) No individual other than those specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section will be permitted to practice before the Office in trademark matters on behalf of a client. Any individual may appear in a trademark or other non-patent matter in his or her own behalf. Any individual may appear in a trademark matter for:
- (1) A firm of which he or she is a member,
- (2) A partnership of which he or she is a partner, or
- (3) A corporation or association of which he or she is an officer and which he or she is authorized to represent, if such firm, partnership, corporation, or association is a party to a trademark proceeding pending before the Office.
37 C.F.R. § 11.18 Signature and certificate for correspondence filed in the Office.
- (a) For all documents filed in the Office in patent, trademark, and other non-patent matters, and all documents filed with a hearing officer in a disciplinary proceeding, except for correspondence that is required to be signed by the applicant or party, each piece of correspondence filed by a practitioner in the Office must bear a signature, personally signed or inserted by such practitioner, in compliance with § 1.4(d)(1), § 1.4(d)(2), or § 2.193(a) of this chapter.
- (b) By presenting to the Office or hearing officer in a disciplinary proceeding (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) any paper, the party presenting such paper, whether a practitioner or non-practitioner, is certifying that—
- (1) All statements made therein of the party’s own knowledge are true, all statements made therein on information and belief are believed to be true, and all statements made therein are made with the knowledge that whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the Office, knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or knowingly and willfully makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or knowingly and willfully makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be subject to the penalties set forth under 18 U.S.C. 1001 and any other applicable criminal statute, and violations of the provisions of this section may jeopardize the probative value of the paper; and
- (2) To the best of the party’s knowledge, information and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances,
- (i) The paper is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass someone or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of any proceeding before the Office;
- (ii) The other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law;
- (iii) The allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and
- (iv) The denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence, or if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on a lack of information or belief.
- (c) Violations of any of paragraphs (b)(2)(i) through (iv) of this section are, after notice and reasonable opportunity to respond, subject to such sanctions or actions as deemed appropriate by the USPTO Director, which may include, but are not limited to, any combination of--
- (1) Striking the offending paper;
- (2) Referring a practitioner’s conduct to the Director of Enrollment and Discipline for appropriate action;
- (3) Precluding a party or practitioner from submitting a paper, or presenting or contesting an issue;
- (4) Affecting the weight given to the offending paper; or
- (5) Terminating the proceedings in the Office.
- (d) Any practitioner violating the provisions of this section may also be subject to disciplinary action.
37 C.F.R. § 2.193 Trademark correspondence and signature requirements.
- (a) Signature required. Each piece of correspondence that requires a person’s 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 verified statement 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.
- (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:
- (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
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- (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.
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- (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.
- (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:
- (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) may also be subject to disciplinary action. See § 11.18(d) and § 11.804 of this chapter.
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- (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.
Every document filed in an inter partes or ex parte proceeding before the Board, and every request for an extension of time to file an opposition, must be signed by the party filing it, or by the party’s attorney or other authorized representative, as appropriate, and the signatory must be identified. [ Note 1.]
Documents filed through ESTTA, the Board’s electronic filing system, do not require a conventional signature. Electronic signatures pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(c) are required for electronic filings. The party or its representative enters a "symbol" that has been adopted as a signature. The Board will accept any combination of letters, numbers, space and/or punctuation marks as a valid signature if it is placed between two forward slash ("/") symbols. [ Note 2.] The electronic signature entered on the ESTTA form is sufficient as the required signature for the entire submission, including in the absence of a signature on any attachment to the filing form. [ Note 3.] The electronic filing cover sheet in ESTTA must be signed by the party filing it, the party’s attorney or other authorized representative, as appropriate. For further information regarding the filing of submissions using ESTTA, see TBMP § 110.
A party may act in its own behalf in a proceeding before the Board, or an attorney or other authorized representative may represent the party. [ Note 4.] See TBMP § 114 (Representation of a Party).
When an individual who is a party to a Board proceeding elects to act in his or her own behalf, the individual must sign any documents that he or she files with the Board. If a party which is a partnership elects to act in its own behalf, a partner should sign documents filed by the partnership. If a party which is a corporation or association elects to act in its own behalf, an officer thereof who is authorized to sign for the corporation or association should sign for that corporation or association. [ Note 5.] If joint applicants elect to act on their own behalf, all joint applicants must sign any documents filed with the Board.
If a document is filed on behalf of a party by the party’s attorney or other authorized representative, it must bear the signature of, and be personally signed or inserted by, that attorney or other representative, unless it is a document required to be signed personally by the party. An attorney or other authorized representative who signs a document, and then files it with the Board on behalf of a party, should remember that his or her signature to the document constitutes a certification of the elements specified in 37 C.F.R. § 11.18(b), and that a knowing violation of the provisions of that rule by an attorney or other authorized representative will leave him or her open to disciplinary action. [ Note 6.] See TBMP § 114.04 (regarding meaning of the designation "other authorized representative") and TBMP § 527.02 (regarding motions for Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 sanctions). A person transmitting paper documents, when permitted, for filing with the Board may sign a cover letter or transmittal letter, and the Office does not require the party, attorney, or authorized representative to sign a cover or transmittal letter. [ Note 7.]
It is not appropriate for one person to sign a document for another person, as, for example, "John Smith, for John Doe" or "John Doe, by John Smith." [ Note 8.]
A document filed in a proceeding before the Board should include the name, in typed or printed form, of the person who signed [ Note 9.]; a description of the capacity in which he or she signed (e.g., as the individual who is a party, if the filing party is an individual; as a corporate officer, if the filing party is a corporation; or as the filing party’s attorney); and his or her business address and telephone number. The inclusion of the signing person’s address and phone number on the submission itself is vital for any paper or physical submissions permitted under the rules because mail physically sent to the Office is opened in the Mail Room, and ordinarily the envelopes are discarded there before the mail is sent on to its ultimate destination within the Office. Thus, the Board rarely sees the return addresses on the mailing envelopes of papers filed in Board proceedings.
In accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(b), a legible copy of the signed document is to be filed with the Board because filings are required to be submitted using ESTTA. The original should be retained as evidence of authenticity. If a question as to the authenticity of a filed copy arises, the Office may require submission of the original. [ Note 10.]
Notwithstanding the requirement that a document filed before the Board be signed, an unsigned document filed in paper form, when permitted, will not be refused consideration if a signed copy is submitted to the Board within the time limit set in the notification of this defect by the Board. [ Note 11.] Similarly, an improperly signed document, whether filed in ESTTA or on paper, when permitted, will not be refused consideration if a properly signed copy is submitted to the Board within the time set in the notification of this defect by the Board. [ Note 12.]
NOTES:
1. 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(d); 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(b); 37 C.F.R. § 2.119(e); and 37 C.F.R. § 11.18 (a).
2. 37 C.F.R. § 2.193 (c)(1); 37 C.F.R. § 2.102(a); 37 C.F.R. § 2.111(b); ShutEmDown Sports Inc. v. Lacy, 102 USPQ2d 1036, 1039 n.12 (TTAB 2012) (applicant’s use of symbols qualified as a signature); DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Maydak, 86 USPQ2d 1945, 1946 (TTAB 2008) (applicant’s use of a symbol between the forward slash marks, followed by his name, qualified as a signature); PPG Industries Inc. v. Guardian Industries Corp., 73 USPQ2d 1926, 1927 (TTAB 2005).
3. 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(c)(1); DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Maydak, 86 USPQ2d 1945, 1946 (TTAB 2008); PPG Industries Inc. v. Guardian Industries Corp., 73 USPQ2d 1926, 1928 (TTAB 2005) (electronically signed ESTTA form made notice of opposition acceptable although attached pleading was not separately signed).
4. 37 C.F.R. § 11.14(a); 37 C.F.R. § 11.14(e).
6. 37 C.F.R. § 2.193(f); 37 C.F.R. § 11.18(c). Cf. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11. See also Clorox Co. v. Chemical Bank, 40 USPQ2d 1098, 1100 n.9 (TTAB 1996) (accuracy in factual representations is expected). Pro se parties are also bound by 37 C.F.R. § 11.18.
8. 37 C.F.R. § 2.119(e) and 37 C.F.R. § 11.18 (a); Boyds Collection Ltd. v. Herrington & Co., 65 USPQ2d 2017, 2018 (TTAB 2003) (response to motion signed by person on behalf of practitioner is inappropriate). Cf. Cerveceria India Inc. v. Cerveceria Centroamericana, S.A., 10 USPQ2d 1064, 1067 (TTAB 1989) (Section 8 declaration signed by someone other than named person, while perhaps unacceptable, does not constitute fraud), aff’d Cerveceria Centroamericana, S.A. v. Cerveceria India Inc., 892 F.2d 1021, 13 USPQ2d 1307 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
12. Cf. 37 C.F.R. § 2.119(e); Birlinn Ltd. v. Stewart, 111 USPQ2d 1905, 1908 (TTAB 2014) (Board applies opportunity to cure provision in 2.119(e) to improperly signed papers, which defines the time period for cure as "within the time limit set in the notification of this defect by the Office").