302.03    Identifying the Nature of Documents Filed

302.03(a)    Correspondence Pertaining to Trademark Applications

Documents filed through TEAS or ESTTA are automatically transmitted to the appropriate location and entered into the record of the appropriate application or Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("Board") proceeding.

For paper documents, to ensure the timely entry into the official record, every piece of correspondence filed in the USPTO pertaining to a trademark application should be identified at the beginning by a heading or caption and by the serial number of the application to which the document pertains.  37 C.F.R. §2.194(b)(1).  Cover letters and transmittal letters should identify the material that they accompany.

To expedite processing, all incoming documents pertaining to an application should include the following identifying data:

  • (1) Serial number;
  • (2) Filing date;
  • (3) Mark;
  • (4) A title indicating the nature of the document;
  • (5) Law office (identified in the most recent Office action);
  • (6) Name of examining attorney identified on the most recent Office action;
  • (7) Issuance date of the Office action to which the document is in response, if applicable;
  • (8) The name, address (including ZIP code), and telephone number of the applicant or the applicant’s attorney; and
  • (9) The applicant’s or attorney’s e-mail address.

To facilitate the matching of responses to Office actions with the correct records, examining attorneys’ Office actions issued on paper include peel-off response labels that reference the application serial number, the mark and the assigned law office.  If filing a response on paper, the applicant is encouraged to affix this label to the upper right-hand corner of the response.

302.03(b)    Correspondence Pertaining to Trademark Registrations

Documents filed through TEAS or ESTTA are automatically transmitted to the appropriate location and entered into the record of the appropriate registration or Board proceeding.

For paper filings, correspondence relating to a registered trademark should identify the registration by specifying the mark, the registrant’s name, and the registration number.  37 C.F.R. §2.194(b)(2).

Paper correspondence filed under 15 U.S.C. §§1057, 1058, 1059, and 1141k should be directed to the Post Registration Section of the Office.

Paper petitions to cancel a registered mark should be directed to the Board.

Court orders relating to registered trademarks should be sent to the Office of the Solicitor.  See TMEP §1610.