§2.206 Trademark fees payable in advance. 
- (a) Trademark fees and charges payable to the Office are required to be paid in advance; that is, at the time of requesting any action by the Office for which a fee or charge is payable.
- (b) All fees paid to the Office must be itemized in each individual trademark application or registration file, or trademark proceeding, so that the purpose for which the fees are paid is clear. The Office may return fees that are not itemized as required by this paragraph.
[Added 68 FR 48286, Aug. 13, 2003, effective Sept. 12, 2003]
§2.207 Methods of payment. 
- (a) All payments of money required in trademark cases, including fees for the processing of international trademark applications and registrations that are paid through the Office, shall be made in U.S. dollars and in the form of a cashier’s or certified check, Treasury note, national bank note, or United States Postal Service money order. If sent in any other form, the Office may delay or cancel the credit until collection is made. Checks and money orders must be made payable to the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. (Checks made payable to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks will continue to be accepted.) Payments from foreign countries must be payable and immediately negotiable in the United States for the full amount of the fee required. Money sent to the Office by mail will be at the risk of the sender, and letters containing money should be registered with the United States Postal Service.
- (b) Payments of money required for trademark fees may also be made by credit card, except for replenishing a deposit account. Payment of a fee by credit card must specify the amount to be charged to the credit card and such other information as is necessary to process the charge, and is subject to collection of the fee. The Office will not accept a general authorization to charge fees to a credit card. If credit card information is provided on a form or document other than a form provided by the Office for the payment of fees by credit card, the Office will not be liable if the credit card number becomes public knowledge.
[Added 68 FR 48286, Aug. 13, 2003, effective Sept. 12, 2003; amended 69 FR 43751, July 22, 2004]
§2.208 Deposit accounts. 
- (a) For the convenience of attorneys, and the general public in paying any fees due, in ordering copies of records, or services offered by the Office, deposit accounts may be established in the Office. A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required for paying any fees due or in ordering any services offered by the Office. The Office will issue a deposit account statement at the end of each month. A remittance must be made promptly upon receipt of the statement to cover the value of items or services charged to the account and thus restore the account to its established normal deposit. An amount sufficient to cover all fees, copies, or services requested must always be on deposit. Charges to accounts with insufficient funds will not be accepted. A service charge (§ 2.6(b)(11)) will be assessed for each month that the balance at the end of the month is below $1,000.
- (b) A general authorization to charge all fees, or only certain fees to a deposit account containing sufficient funds may be filed in an individual application, either for the entire pendency of the application or with respect to a particular document filed. An authorization to charge a fee to a deposit account will not be considered payment of the fee on the date the authorization to charge the fee is effective as to the particular fee to be charged unless sufficient funds are present in the account to cover the fee.
- (c) A deposit account holder may replenish the deposit account by submitting a payment to the Office. A payment to replenish a deposit account must be submitted by one of the methods set forth in paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3), or (c)(4) of this section.
- (1) A payment to replenish a deposit account may be submitted by electronic funds transfer through the Federal Reserve Fedwire System, which requires that the following information be provided to the deposit account holder’s bank or financial institution:
- (i) Name of the Bank, which is Treas NYC (Treasury New York City);
- (ii) Bank Routing Code, which is 021030004;
- (iii) United States Patent and Trademark Office account number with the Department of the Treasury, which is 13100001; and
- (iv) The deposit account holder’s company name and deposit account number.
- (2) A payment to replenish a deposit account may be submitted by electronic funds transfer over the Office’s Internet Web site (http://www.uspto.gov ).
- (3) A payment to replenish a deposit account may be addressed to: Mail Stop Deposit Accounts, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
- (1) A payment to replenish a deposit account may be submitted by electronic funds transfer through the Federal Reserve Fedwire System, which requires that the following information be provided to the deposit account holder’s bank or financial institution:
[Added 68 FR 48286, Aug. 13, 2003, effective Sept. 12, 2003; amended 69 FR 43751, July 22, 2004; 70 FR 56119, Sept. 26, 2005, effective Nov. 25, 2005; 73 FR 67759, Nov. 17, 2008, effective Jan. 16, 2009; 81 FR 72694, Oct. 21, 2016, effective Jan. 14, 2017; 86 FR 35229, July 2, 2021, Effective July 2, 2021]
§2.209 Refunds. 
- (a) The Director may refund any fee paid by mistake or in excess of that required. A change of purpose after the payment of a fee, such as when a party desires to withdraw a trademark application, appeal or other trademark filing for which a fee was paid, will not entitle a party to a refund of such fee. The Office will not refund amounts of twenty-five dollars or less unless a refund is specifically requested, and will not notify the payor of such amounts. If a party paying a fee or requesting a refund does not provide the banking information necessary for making refunds by electronic funds transfer (31 U.S.C. 3332 and 31 CFR part 208), or instruct the Office that refunds are to be credited to a deposit account, the Director may require such information, or use the banking information on the payment instrument to make a refund. Any refund of a fee paid by credit card will be by a credit to the credit card account to which the fee was charged.
- (b) Any request for refund must be filed within two years from the date the fee was paid, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph. If the Office charges a deposit account by an amount other than an amount specifically indicated in an authorization (§ 2.208(b)), any request for refund based upon such charge must be filed within two years from the date of the deposit account statement indicating such charge, and include a copy of that deposit account statement. The time periods set forth in this paragraph are not extendable.
[Added 68 FR 48286, Aug. 13, 2003, effective Sept. 12, 2003]