819.03 Procedures for Payment of Additional Processing Fee Per Class
A TEAS Plus applicant must pay an additional processing fee per class if the initial application does not meet the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §2.22(a). 37 C.F.R. §2.22(c). Thereafter, the application will be examined as a TEAS Standard application, including for the purposes of determining fees. The application will retain its original filing date, assuming the initial application met the minimum filing requirements that are mandatory for all applications under 37 C.F.R. §2.21(a).
Processing Fee Must Be Paid for All Active Classes. If an applicant does not meet all the TEAS Plus application requirements, the applicant must pay an additional processing fee per class for all classes that are in the application at the time the examining attorney issues the Office action requiring the TEAS Plus processing fee.
Example: The original application is for two classes. The applicant does not meet the TEAS Plus application requirements because in the original application, the applicant failed to include a transliteration of the Chinese characters in the mark. The first Office action includes: (1) a requirement for a transliteration; (2) a requirement for the additional processing fee for two classes; and (3) a refusal of registration as to one class under §2(d) of the Trademark Act. If the applicant responds by submitting a transliteration and deleting the class that was refused, the applicant must pay the additional processing fee for two classes, because there were two classes in the application when the Office action requiring the additional processing fee was issued.
Examiner’s Amendment. If all remaining issues can be handled through a telephone or email conversation with the applicant or the applicant’s qualified U.S. attorney, and a deposit account is used to pay the fee or an authorization to charge the fee to a credit card is permitted to be submitted by fax, the fee may be collected by examiner’s amendment. However, a fee cannot be charged to a deposit account by examiner’s amendment unless the record contains a written authorization, signed by someone who is authorized to charge fees to the account. If there is no written authorization in the record, the applicant may submit the authorization by email. See TMEP §405.03 regarding deposit accounts.
Combined Examiner’s Amendment/Priority Action. If all of the issues except payment of the additional processing fee are resolved by a telephone or email conversation with the applicant or the applicant’s U.S. attorney, the examining attorney may issue a combined Examiner’s Amendment/Priority Action (TMEP §708.05) to enter the amendment(s) and require payment of the additional processing fee.
No Partial Refusal. If the applicant fails to meet a TEAS Plus application requirement, the requirement for the additional processing fee applies to the entire application, so an Office action requiring the processing fee can never be a partial refusal.
Paying the Processing Fee Through TEAS. To pay the additional processing fee through TEAS, the applicant must use the TEAS Response to Office Action (ROA) form or the TEAS Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to USPTO Office Action/Letter form.