803.05 Domicile and E-mail Addresses of Applicant
The application must specify the applicant’s domicile and e-mail addresses. 37 C.F.R. §2.32(a)(2). Applicant must keep these addresses current and promptly update the USPTO when these addresses change.37 C.F.R §§2.23, 2.189. See TMEP §803.05(b) regarding certain filers that may be exempt from the requirement to provide an e-mail address.
803.05(a) Domicile Address
Applicants must provide and keep current the address of their domicile. 37 C.F.R §§2.32(a)(2), 2.189. An applicant’s domicile address is required for a complete application. 37 C.F.R §2.32(a)(2).
For a natural person, domicile is the permanent legal place of residence, which is the place the person resides and intends to be the person’s principal home. 37 C.F.R §2.2(o). For a juristic entity, domicile is the principal place of business, which is the entity’s headquarters where its senior executives or officers ordinarily direct and control the entity’s activities and is usually the center from where other locations are controlled. 37 C.F.R §§2.2(o) -(p). See TMEP §601.01 regarding determining domicile.
An applicant’s domicile address will determine whether the applicant is required to be represented before the USPTO by an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a U.S. state, Commonwealth, or territory (a qualified U.S. attorney). 37 C.F.R §§2.11(a), 11.1, 11.14(e); see TMEP §§601, 602. An applicant whose domicile is not located within the United States or its territories must be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney. 37 C.F.R §2.11(a). An applicant whose domicile is within the United States or its territories may represent itself in prosecuting an application or may be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney. See TMEP §601 regarding representation requirements for mark owners based on domicile.
An applicant generally must provide its domicile street address. See 37 C.F.R §2.189. Domicile addresses should include the United States Postal Service ZIP code or its equivalent for addresses outside the United States. In most cases, a post-office box, a "care of" (c/o) address, the address of a mail forwarding service, or other similar variation cannot be a domicile address. See TMEP §601.01(b)(1) for more information.
The TEAS application forms include a dedicated field for the applicant’s domicile address and a separate field for the applicant’s mailing address. Only address information entered in the "domicile address" field on the TEAS form is hidden from public view. Therefore, if an applicant enters the same address in the TEAS form fields for its mailing address and its domicile address, that address will be publicly viewable.
For joint applicants, the application must set forth the domicile address for each party. For a partnership, corporation, association, or other firm, only the domicile address of the business must be set forth -- not the addresses of individual partners, officers, or members.
When necessary, the USPTO may require the applicant to furnish information or declarations to confirm the applicant's domicile address in order to determine if the applicant is subject to the requirement to be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney. 37 C.F.R §2.11(b). See TMEP §601.01(b) and TMEP §803.05(a)(2) for more information.
803.05(b) E-mail Address
Applicants must provide and maintain a valid e-mail address. See 37 C.F.R §§2.23(b), 2.32(a)(2). The applicant’s e-mail address is a filing-date requirement and is required even if the applicant has appointed a qualified U.S. attorney, so that the USPTO can contact the applicant if representation ends. See 37 C.F.R §2.21(a)(1); TMEP §202.
The applicant may provide an e-mail address of its choice, including an e-mail specifically created for receiving USPTO correspondence. If the applicant is represented by a qualified U.S. attorney, the e-mail address listed in the owner field may not be identical to the listed e-mail address of its attorney.
The e-mail address listed in the owner field for trademark applicants who are represented by a qualified U.S. attorney will not be publicly viewable. Only the e-mail address of the attorney will be publicly viewable, and the USPTO will use the attorney’s email address for correspondence.
The e-mail address listed in the owner field for trademark applicants who are not represented by a qualified U.S. attorney will be used by the USPTO for correspondence and will be publicly viewable as the correspondence e-mail address. To avoid receiving unsolicited communications at a personal or business e-mail address, applicants may wish to create an e-mail address specifically for communication and correspondence related to their trademark filings at the USPTO.
For in-house counsel and attorneys representing themselves in a matter, the TEAS forms will require two different e-mail addresses: one for the owner e-mail address field and one for the attorney e-mail address field. For technical reasons related to the TEAS forms, these addresses cannot be identical.
Section 66(a) applications. The requirement for an applicant to provide and maintain a valid e-mail address also applies to applications filed under Trademark Act Section 66(a). 37 C.F.R §§2.23(b), 7.25(a). This is not a filing-date requirement for an initial Section 66(a) application, because these are transmitted to the USPTO by the International Bureau (IB) and generally do not include an e-mail address for receiving USPTO correspondence. In addition, if a Section 66(a) application is otherwise in condition for approval for publication upon first action, the examining attorney will not require the applicant to first provide an e-mail address prior to publication. However, an applicant’s e-mail address will be required in any subsequent submissions.
Certain treaty filers exempt from e-mail requirement. If the applicant is a national of a country that has acceded to the Trademark Law Treaty, but not to the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, the requirement to provide the applicant’s e-mail address does not apply. 37 C.F.R §§2.21(c), 2.23(c); see TMEP §301.02(c).