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 Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database 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 in the Public Search Facility on the USPTO premises. See TMEP §402.
109.02 Paper Files
The USPTO does not create paper files for trademark applications or retain paper copies of trademark-related documents that are submitted to the USPTO in paper or electronic format. Incoming papers received in the USTPO are scanned into the electronic record and retained for one year, after which they are destroyed. See notice at 77 FR 3745 (Jan. 25, 2012). A request to correct the electronic record regarding a paper scanned into the electronic record should be addressed to tmscanning@uspto.gov no later than one month prior to the expiration of the one-year retention period.
Furthermore, the USPTO does not generate paper documents, except for the original notices or Office actions that are by mailed to applicants or registrants who have not authorized communication by email and certified copies of trademark documents requested by the public. See TMEP §111. All documents related to a U.S. trademark application, registration, or international application can be viewed and printed through the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database.
Older paper files for abandoned applications and cancelled and expired registrations may be destroyed two years after the date of abandonment, cancellation, or expiration. 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.
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 the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database 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 the Trademark Electronic Search System (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 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.
See TMEP §111 regarding requests that the USPTO provide copies of trademark documents.