1904.01(e) Priority
A holder may claim a right of priority within the meaning of Article 4 of the Paris Convention if:
- (1) The request for extension of protection contains a claim of priority;
- (2) The request for extension of protection specifies the filing date, serial number, and country of the application that forms the basis for the claim of priority; and
- (3) The date of international registration or the date of the recordal of the subsequent designation requesting an extension of protection to the United States is not later than 6 months after the date of the first regular national filing (within the meaning of Article 4(A)(3) of the Paris Convention) or a subsequent application (within the meaning of Article 4(C)(4) of the Paris Convention).
Section 67 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1141g; Article 4(2). See also Paris Convention Article 4(D).
To be eligible for a claim of priority in a §66(a) application, the holder must file the request for extension of protection to the United States within 6 months of the date of the filing that forms the basis of the priority claim. If the United States is designated for an extension of protection in an international application, the international registration date cannot be later than 6 months after the date of the filing that formed the basis of the priority claim. If a request for extension of protection to the United States is made in a subsequent designation, the date of recordal of the subsequent designation cannot be later than 6 months after the date of the filing that formed the basis of the priority claim. The Office’s electronic systems use the dates provided in the international registration to automatically calculate whether an application receives the benefit of a priority claim. If the "Priority Claimed" field indicates "YES," the "Priority Claimed Date" is to be treated as the effective filing date. See TMEP §206.02 for information on claiming priority under §67, 15 U.S.C. §1141g.