303.01    Filing Date for Electronic Submissions

Trademark correspondence transmitted electronically using TEAS is considered filed on the date the USPTO receives the submission, in Eastern Time (ET), regardless of whether that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.  37 C.F.R. §2.195(a).

All forms filed using TEAS are time/date stamped when received by the USPTO, ET. The time/date stamp is generated at the moment the payment process is completed or, if no payment is required, when the success screen is displayed. The time/date stamp is the official time the USPTO received the submission; the time the transmission began is not considered when assigning the filing date. The official filing date and time can be found at the bottom of the email confirmation sent after submission. Any TEAS submission received by the USPTO as of 11:59 p.m. (i.e., before 12:00 a.m.) ET will be given that day's filing date.

If a document transmitted through TEAS or ESTTA is due on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, the document will be considered timely if the USPTO receives the transmission on or before the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. 37 C.F.R. §2.196; TMEP §308.

Permitted paper filings. For correspondence permitted to be filed on paper (see TMEP §301.01), the filing date of a submission submitted on paper is the date the USPTO received the submission.  37 C.F.R. §2.195(b).  However, for submissions using Priority Mail Express®, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §2.198, or the "certification of mailing" procedure, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §2.197, the filing date of the submission is the date of deposit with the U. S. Postal Service. 37 C.F.R. §2.195(b)(1), (b)(2).

In addition, under 37 C.F.R. §2.195(b)(3), no paper correspondence is "received" in the USPTO on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of Columbia.  See TMEP §308 regarding response periods that end on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.

See TMEP §1904.01(b) regarding the filing date of a request for an extension of protection of an international registration to the United States under §66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1141f(a).