601 Owner of Mark May Be Represented by a Qualified Practitioner
The owner of a mark may represent himself or herself in prosecuting an application or maintaining a registration, or may be represented by a practitioner authorized under 37 C.F.R. §11.14 to practice in trademark cases ("qualified practitioner"). 37 C.F.R. §§2.11,11.14(e). See TMEP §§602–602.03(e).
601.01 USPTO Cannot Aid in Selection of an Attorney
The USPTO cannot aid in the selection of a qualified practitioner. 37 C.F.R. §2.11.
If it is apparent that an applicant or registrant is unfamiliar with the procedures for prosecuting an application or maintaining a registration and needs more detailed or technical assistance than the USPTO staff is permitted to give, the USPTO staff may suggest that it may be desirable to employ an attorney who is familiar with trademark matters. The following is an example of language that may be used in the Office action:
The applicant may wish to hire a trademark attorney because of the technicalities involved in the application. The United States Patent and Trademark Office cannot aid in the selection of an attorney. 37 C.F.R. §2.11.
601.02 Communications with Applicant or Registrant Who Is Represented by an Attorney
37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7)
Once the Office has recognized a practitioner qualified under §11.14 of this chapter as the representative of an applicant or registrant, the Office will communicate and conduct business only with that practitioner, or with another qualified practitioner from the same firm. The Office will not conduct business directly with the applicant or registrant, or with another practitioner from a different firm, unless the applicant or registrant files a revocation of the power of attorney under §2.19(a), and/or a new power of attorney that meets the requirements of §2.17(c). A written request to change the correspondence address does not revoke a power of attorney.
If an applicant or registrant is represented by a qualified practitioner, the USPTO will conduct business only with the practitioner, unless that representation is terminated. 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7). If the applicant or registrant contacts the USPTO regarding the application or registration, he or she will be advised that the USPTO will only conduct business with the qualified practitioner. USPTO employees may answer general questions about the application or registration record and the procedures for obtaining and maintaining a registration, and are encouraged to refer the applicant or registrant to publicly available information on the USPTO’s website. See TMEP §1805 regarding general inquiries from the public.
An applicant or registrant may not authorize an examiner’s amendment or change of correspondence address, and the USPTO will not accept responses or amendments signed by the applicant or registrant if there is a qualified practitioner of record. See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(7). See TMEP §§611–611.06(h) regarding signature of documents filed in the USPTO.
An applicant or registrant may revoke the authority of a qualified practitioner to represent the applicant or registrant. 37 C.F.R. §2.19(a)(1). An applicant or registrant who wishes to revoke the power of attorney should be encouraged to file the revocation through the Trademark Electronic Application System ("TEAS"). See TMEP §606 regarding revocation of power of attorney.
See TMEP §604.03 regarding changes of attorney, TMEP §604.02 regarding the duration of recognition as a representative, and TBMP §§114–114.08regarding representation of parties to proceedings before the Board.