820.02(a) Receipt of Communications by E-Mail
Trademark Rule 2.23(b)(2), 37 C.F.R. §2.23(b)(2), requires that the applicant maintain a valid e-mail correspondence address and continue to receive correspondence by e-mail throughout the pendency of the application.
If the TEAS RF applicant (or the applicant’s qualified practitioner) files a change of correspondence address, and the correspondence address change does not authorize e-mail correspondence, or if the applicant has a change in e-mail address, but does not notify the USPTO of the new e-mail address, thereby causing correspondence from the USPTO to be undeliverable, the applicant will be required to pay an additional processing fee. 37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(1)(v) and 2.23(c). The applicant cannot avoid paying the fee by subsequently agreeing to authorize e-mail correspondence.
When issuing a nonfinal action on a TEAS RF application, the examining attorney will include a reminder that the applicant must maintain a valid e-mail correspondence address and continue to accept correspondence from the USPTO via e-mail throughout the examination process in order to avoid the additional fee. If the applicant files a request to change the correspondence address that does not authorize e-mail correspondence, the requirement for payment of the additional fee will be made final, assuming that the application is otherwise in condition for final refusal.