111.02(a) Requirements for Certificate
37 C.F.R. § 2.190 Addresses for trademark correspondence with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- (a) Paper trademark documents. In general, trademark documents to be delivered by the USPS must be addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451. Trademark-related documents to be delivered by hand, private courier, or other delivery service may be delivered during the hours the Office is open to receive correspondence to the Trademark Assistance Center, James Madison Building--East Wing, Concourse Level, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
- (b) Electronic trademark documents. Trademark documents filed electronically must be submitted through TEAS. Documents that relate to proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board must be filed electronically with the Board through ESTTA.
- (c) Trademark assignment documents. Requests to record documents in the Assignment Recordation Branch may be filed electronically through ETAS. Paper documents and cover sheets to be recorded in the Assignment Recordation Branch should be addressed as designated in § 3.27 of this chapter.
- (d) Requests for certified copies of trademark documents. Paper requests for certified copies of trademark documents must be addressed to: Mail Stop Document Services, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
- (e) Certain documents relating to international applications and registrations. International applications under § 7.11, subsequent designations under § 7.21, responses to notices of irregularity under § 7.14, requests to record changes in the International Register under § 7.23 and § 7.24, requests to note replacements under § 7.28, requests for transformation under §. 7.31 of this chapter, and petitions to the Director to review an action of the Office's Madrid Processing Unit must be addressed to: Madrid Processing Unit, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-5796.
The requirements for filing trademark-related documents on paper (except for paper trademark-related documents sent to the Assignment Recordation Branch for recordation and requests for certified copies of trademark application and registration documents) by the certificate of mailing procedure are as follows:
(1) Prior to the expiration of the set period, the correspondence must be deposited with the U.S. Postal Service, with sufficient postage as first-class mail, addressed to:
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
P.O. Box 1451
Alexandria,VA 22313-1451
and;
(2) Each piece of correspondence must include a certificate which states the date of deposit with the USPS, attests to the mailing and the address used, includes the name of the document and the application serial number, reference number, or registration to which it pertains, and is signed (separate and apart from any signature for the piece of correspondence itself) by a person who has a reasonable basis to expect that the correspondence will be mailed on or before the date indicated. [ Note 1.]
Paper trademark-related documents sent to the Assignment Recordation Branch for recordation should be addressed to: Mail Stop Assignment Recordation Branch Services, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450. If a certificate of mailing is used on such correspondence, it should specify that address. [ Note 2.]
Requests for certified copies of trademark documents pertaining to applications and registrations are handled by the USPTO Patent and Trademark Office Certified Copy Center. Requests are submitted online at https://certifiedcopycenter.uspto.gov/. See TBMP § 121 for further information on obtaining file copies.
The Assignment Recordation Branch of the Public Records Division also has an electronic trademark assignment recording form on the Office website. The system is called ETAS (Electronic Trademark Assignment System) and allows customers to create and submit a Trademark Assignment Recordation Coversheet by completing online web forms and attaching the supporting legal documentation. The form and additional information can be accessed at www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/assign.jsp. [ Note 4.]
The certificate of mailing procedure may not be used for mail sent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office from a foreign country, because U.S. Postal Service first-class mail services are not available in foreign countries.
A certificate of mailing should be clearly labeled as such and should include a reference to the proceeding number to which it pertains, the date of mailing, and the signature of the person attesting that the document is being mailed on a certain date. When possible, the certificate should appear on the paper being mailed, rather than on a separate sheet of paper.
NOTES:
1. 37 C.F.R. § 2.197(a) and 37 C.F.R. § 2.195(b)(3).