1708.01 Petition to Waive Domicile Address Requirement
An applicant or registrant ("party") may petition the Director to waive the domicile address requirement of Trademark Rule 2.189 The party must assert an extraordinary situation exists that would justify waiving the rule. . 37 C.F.R §2.146(a)(5), 2.148, 2.189; see TMEP §1708.
Even if the party can establish an extraordinary situation, the party must provide the state, or foreign equivalent, and country of their domicile. When an extraordinary situation is established, the Director will waive only the requirement for the street address of the party’s domicile.
One petition will cover simultaneously pending applications or pending post-registration filings. If, at the time the petition is filed, a party has more than one application pending and/or more than one registration for which there are post-registration maintenance documents (e.g., Section 8 or Section 71 affidavits or declarations, or Section 7 requests) pending, they may file one petition that identifies all of the pending applications and all of the registrations that have pending post-registration submissions. If the petition is granted, the decision will apply to all of the identified applications and/or registrations and will be uploaded into each identified application and/or registration record. If the party files new applications or post-registration maintenance documents for additional registrations while the petition is pending, or after the petition is decided, the party must file a new petition to request a waiver of the domicile address requirement for the newly filed applications and additional registrations.
Granted petition will cover an application or registration throughout its term. A party who filed a petition to waive the domicile address requirement of Rule 2.189 that was granted during the pendency of the application need not file a new petition to waive Rule 2.189 when a post-registration filing is submitted if all of the relevant facts asserted in the initial petition remain unchanged. Similarly, a new petition to waive Rule 2.189 in a registration is not needed if a waiver was previously granted in connection with a post-registration filing. In these cases, the owner must declare in subsequent post-registration filings that all relevant facts asserted in the petition to waive the domicile address requirement, including the state and country of domicile, and the extraordinary situation presented, remain unchanged. This statement must be supported by a declaration under 37 C.F.R §2.20 or 28 U.S.C. §1746. If any relevant fact has changed since the petition was granted, the owner must file a new petition to the Director to waive the domicile address requirement of Rule 2.189.
Petition requirements. The petition must include a statement of the facts relevant to the petition identifying the extraordinary situation that would justify waiving Rule 2.189 supported by a declaration under 37 C.F.R §2.20 or 28 U.S.C. §1746, the state and country of the applicant’s or registrant’s domicile and the appropriate petition filing fee. 37 C.F.R §2.146(c). If more than one application and/or registration is identified in the petition, only one petition filing fee is required. Please note that all information included in the petition will be uploaded into the application or registration record and publicly viewable.
Petition requirements if the party has no fixed physical address. An applicant or registrant may petition the Director to request a waiver of the domicile address requirement if an individual applicant or registrant cannot provide their domicile address because they do not have a fixed permanent legal place of residence or a juristic entity applicant or registrant cannot provide a domicile address because it does not have a fixed physical address for its principal place of business. In such cases, the petition must include a verified statement of facts explaining that the applicant or registrant does not have a fixed physical address for their permanent legal place of residence or principal place of business, as appropriate. The applicant or registrant must still provide the state, or foreign equivalent, and country of their domicile (if an individual), or the state, or foreign equivalent, and country of the domicile of a person with legal authority to bind the applicant or registrant (if a juristic entity), to determine whether the applicant or registrant must be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney.