109 Access to Records
18 U.S.C. §2071 Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally.
(a)
Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
(b)
Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term "office" does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.
37 C.F.R. §2.27(b)
Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, access to the file of a particular pending application will be permitted prior to publication under §2.80 upon written request.
37 C.F.R. §2.27(d)
Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, the official records of applications and all proceedings relating thereto are available for public inspection and copies of the documents may be furnished upon payment of the fee required by § 2.6.
37 C.F.R. §2.27(e)
Anything ordered to be filed under seal pursuant to a protective order issued or made by any court or by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in any proceeding involving an application or registration shall be kept confidential and shall not be made available for public inspection or copying unless otherwise ordered by the court or the Board, or unless the party protected by the order voluntarily discloses the matter subject thereto. When possible, only confidential portions of filings with the Board shall be filed under seal.
In order to inspect the contents of a trademark application or registration record, it is not necessary to show good cause or to have a power to inspect from the applicant or registrant.
109.01 Electronic Image Records
The public may view and print images of the contents of trademark application and registration records through the TSDR portal on the USPTO website at http://tsdr.uspto.gov/. Electronic images of Board proceeding records are also available on the USPTO website at http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/. TSDR and TTABVUE are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, free of charge.
The public may also view and print images of the contents of trademark application and registration records through the Trademark Image Capture and Retrieval System ("TICRS"), available in the Public Search Facility on the USPTO premises. See TMEP §402.
109.02 Paper Files
Effective April 12, 2004, the USPTO no longer creates paper files for all trademark applications or paper copies of certain trademark-related documents that are submitted to the USPTO in electronic format. Furthermore, the USPTO does not generate paper copies of certain trademark documents that the USPTO creates, except for copies that are sent to recipients by mail. See New USPTO Policies Regarding (1) Generation of Paper Copies of Trademark-Related Documents and (2) Public Access to Existing Paper Copies of Trademark-Related Documents (TMOG Apr. 6, 2004), at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2004/week14/pattmcp.htm. All these documents can be viewed through TICRS and TSDR.
Procedure for Requesting Paper Files. A member of the public must make a request for access to the file. The request must include the name and phone number of the person requesting the file. USPTO personnel must keep a record of all files being removed, and enter the new location of the file (e.g., charged to non-USPTO personnel) in the Trademark database. The public must inspect the file on the premises of the USPTO, and nothing may be removed from the file without written authorization from the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks. Requests for files should be made at the following locations:
- Files Located Within the Trademark Operation or at the Board. A request for access to a paper file that is located within the Trademark Operation or at the Board should be directed to TAC, located in the James Madison Building - East Wing, Concourse Level, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This includes files located in the law offices, Pre-Examination Section, ITU Unit, and Post Registration Section. See Official Gazette notice dated April 6, 2004, posted at http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/notice_paperfiles.htm. The file will usually be available to the requester within a few days.
- Files Located at the Warehouse. Requests for access to paper files located at the warehouse should be directed either (1) to TAC, located in the James Madison Building - East Wing, Concourse Level, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or (2) to the File Information Unit, located on the third floor of the Randolph Square Building, 2800 South Randolph Street, Arlington, VA, between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This includes files for abandoned applications, cancelled and expired registrations, and terminated Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings. The file will usually be available to the requester within a few days.
The public can check TSDR to determine where a file is located.
Paper files for abandoned applications and cancelled and expired registrations are stored in the warehouse for two years after the date of abandonment, cancellation, or expiration, and then destroyed. See notice at 980 TMOG 16, reprinted at 1232 TMOG 625 (March 21, 2000). See TBMP §120.03 regarding the retention schedule for the files of terminated Board proceedings.
No file or related document may be removed from the premises occupied by the USPTO, except as required by the issue process or other official process, unless specifically authorized by the Director. 18 U.S.C. §2071(b). If such authorization is given, the employee having custody will be responsible for complying with the requirements of law.
See TMEP §503.08 regarding the accessibility of assignment records.
109.03 Making Copies of Materials in Records
The public may print images of the contents of trademark application, registration, and Board proceeding records through TSDR or TTABVUE on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov. See TMEP §109.01. The public can also print electronic copies of records pertaining to applications or registrations through TESS (see TMEP §104), and prosecution histories through TSDR (see TMEP §108.01) on the USPTO website. There is no charge for use of these databases.
The public may also print trademark documents from TICRS, TTABVUE, TSDR, or X-Search in the Public Search Facility on the USPTO premises. There is a fee for printing images of documents in the Public Search Facility. See TMEP §104.
Photocopiers for making copies of paper files are available to the public on the premises of the USPTO for a fee.
See TMEP §111 regarding requests that the USPTO provide copies of trademark documents.