609.04   Correspondence with Parties Not Domiciled in the United States

If an applicant or registrant has not clearly stated a preferred correspondence address, the USPTO will process correspondence as follows:

  • If an applicant or registrant has appointed a qualified practitioner (see TMEP §§602–602.03(e)), the USPTO will send correspondence to that practitioner.
  • If the applicant or registrant is not represented by a qualified practitioner, and the applicant or registrant has appointed a domestic representative, the USPTO will send correspondence to the domestic representative if appropriate, unless the applicant or registrant designates in writing another correspondence address.  However, the domestic representative is not authorized to prosecute an application or represent a party in a proceeding before the USPTO, unless the domestic representative is a qualified practitioner who has been recognized by the USPTO as the representative of the applicant or registrant.  See TMEP §610 regarding domestic representatives.
  • If the applicant or registrant is not represented by a qualified practitioner (see 37 C.F.R. §11.14), and the applicant or registrant does not designate a domestic representative, the USPTO will send correspondence directly to the applicant or registrant at its foreign address, unless the applicant or registrant designates in writing another correspondence address. See 37 C.F.R. §2.18(a)(5).

See TMEP §609.01(a) regarding correspondence in §66(a) applications.