113.05    No Additional Time for Taking Action After Service by Mail

Whenever a party to an inter partes proceeding before the Board is required to take some action within a prescribed period of time after the service of a submission upon that party by another party to the proceeding, and the submission is served by first-class mail, Priority Mail Express®, or overnight courier, the date of mailing or of delivery to the overnight courier will be considered the date of service. The time for taking action is no longer enlarged by 5 days. Rather, all fifteen-day response dates to submissions served by an adverse party are now amended to twenty days. [ Note 1.] In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d) is not applicable to Board proceedings. As an alternative to email service, parties may stipulate to accept service by other means but also agree to serve a courtesy copy by email. Please Note: a courtesy copy does not substitute for proper service under the applicable Trademark Rules. [ Note 2.]

For example, if one party to a proceeding serves, upon another party to the proceeding, a motion to compel discovery by email or other means stipulated to by the parties, the served party’s time for filing a response to the motion will be 20 days from the date of service of the motion. "The extra five days provided for in former § 2.119(c) are already built into the response time period." [ Note 3.] There is no extra response period built into the 30-day response period for responding to discovery or for responding to a motion for summary judgment. [ Note 4.]

NOTES:

 1.   37 C.F.R. § 2.119(c). See also MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69960 (October 7, 2016) ("All fifteen-day response dates initiated by a service date are amended to twenty days.").

 2.   Jacques Moret Inc. v. Speedo Holdings B.V., 102 USPQ2d 1212, 1217 n.7 (TTAB 2012).

 3.   See MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69960 (October 7, 2016).

 4.   See MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES TO TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD RULES OF PRACTICE, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950, 69950-51 (October 7, 2016).