1605.05    Combining §15 Affidavit or Declaration with §8 Affidavit or Declaration

A §15 affidavit or declaration may be combined with a §8 affidavit or declaration, if the combined affidavit or declaration meets the requirements of both §8 and §15.

The filing fee for a combined §8 and §15 affidavit or declaration is the sum of the cost of the individual filings. If the combined §8 and §15 affidavit or declaration is filed during the §8 grace period, the grace period surcharge per class for the §8 affidavit or declaration must be paid.  There is no grace period surcharge for a §15 affidavit or declaration.

If a combined §8 and §15 affidavit or declaration is filed, and the §8 affidavit or declaration is deficient, the deficiency may be corrected before expiration of the relevant deadline set forth in §8 of the Act for no fee, or after expiration of the relevant deadline with the deficiency surcharge required by §8(c) of the Act, 15 U.S.C. §1058(c).  See TMEP §§1604.17-1604.17(c) for information about the procedures, deadlines, and surcharge for correcting deficiencies in a §8 affidavit or declaration.  There is no deficiency surcharge for a §15 affidavit or declaration.

The combined §8 and §15 affidavit or declaration must be submitted through TEAS at https://teas.uspto.gov, unless an exception to the requirement to file electronically through TEAS applies. See 37 C.F.R §2.23; TMEP §301.01. TEAS almost immediately displays a "Success" page that confirms receipt.  This page is evidence of filing should any question arise as to the filing date of the affidavit or declaration, and it may be printed or copied and pasted into an electronic record for storage.  TEAS also separately sends an email acknowledgement of receipt, which includes a summary of the filed information.

See TMEP §1613.19 regarding a combined filing under §71 and §15 of the Act.