606    Revocation of Power of Attorney

37 C.F.R. §2.19(a)  Revocation.

  • (1)  Authority to represent an applicant, registrant or party to a proceeding before the Office may be revoked at any stage in the proceedings of a trademark case, upon written notification signed by the applicant, registrant, or party to the proceeding, or by someone with legal authority to bind the applicant, registrant, or party (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership).  In the case of joint applicants or joint registrants, all must sign.
  • (2) When a power of attorney is revoked, the Office will communicate directly with the applicant, registrant, or party to the proceeding, or with the new attorney or domestic representative if appropriate.
  • (3) A request to change the correspondence address does not revoke a power of attorney.
  • (4) A new power of attorney that meets the requirements of §2.17(c) will be treated as a revocation of the previous power.

Once a qualified practitioner has been recognized as the representative of an applicant or registrant, the applicant or registrant may revoke the power of attorney by filing a written revocation.  To expedite processing, the USPTO recommends that revocations of powers of attorney be filed through TEAS, at http://www.uspto.gov.

Signature.  The revocation must be personally signed by the individual applicant or registrant or by someone with legal authority to bind a juristic applicant or registrant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership).  In the case of joint applicants or registrants, all must sign.  37 C.F.R. §§2.19(a), 2.193(e)(3).

A new qualified practitioner cannot sign a revocation of the previous power of attorney.  A new qualified practitioner may submit a revocation and new appointment of power of attorney through TEAS by e-mailing the text form to the applicant or registrant for electronic signature from within TEAS, or by attaching a .jpg or .pdf image of a handwritten pen-and-ink revocation/appointment signed by the applicant or registrant.  See TMEP §611.01(c) regarding electronic signature.  A new qualified practitioner should not directly sign the TEAS revocation form.

Effect on Correspondence Address.  If the applicant or registrant files a new power of attorney with the revocation of the previous power of attorney, the address in the new power of attorney becomes the correspondence address of record.  If the applicant or registrant files a revocation without a new power of attorney, correspondence will be sent either:  (1) directly to the applicant or registrant or to the correspondence address designated by the applicant or registrant; or (2) if the revocation is transmitted by a qualified practitioner, to the qualified practitioner who signed the cover letter or action accompanying the revocation.  See TMEP §§609.02, 609.02(a).

New Power Treated as Revocation.  If the applicant or registrant files a new power of attorney naming a new qualified practitioner as its representative, this will be treated as a revocation of any previous power of attorney, even if the applicant or registrant does not specifically revoke the previous power.  37 C.F.R. §2.19(a)(4).

Request to Change Correspondence Address Does Not Revoke Power of Attorney.  A written request to change the correspondence address does not revoke a power of attorney.  37 C.F.R. §§2.18(a)(7), 2.19(a)(3).  See TMEP §604.03 regarding changes of attorney, and TMEP §§609.02–609.02(f) regarding changes of correspondence address.

Processing Revocations Filed After Registration.  For purposes of recognition as a representative, the USPTO considers a power of attorney to end with registration.  37 C.F.R. §2.17(g)(1). If the power is filed in connection with an affidavit under §8, §12(c), §15, or §71, a §9 renewal application, or a §7 request, the power is deemed to end upon acceptance or final rejection of the filing.  37 C.F.R. §2.17(g)(2).   TMEP §604.02.

After registration, if the registrant files a paper request to revoke a power of attorney appointed before registration, the USPTO scans an image of the revocation into its automated records but does not update the attorney information unless the registrant concurrently takes a separate action such as filing an affidavit under §8.   TMEP §1612.  When a request to revoke a power of attorney is filed through TEAS after registration, the data is automatically entered into the USPTO's records. TMEP §§605.04, 1612.

Board Proceedings.  See TBMP §116.01 regarding revocation of authority to represent parties to Board proceedings.