Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Monday, January 19, 2009, and Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009, and Tuesday, January 20, 2009, are each a “Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.” See MPEP 710.05 and TMEP 308. Thus, any action or fee due on these days will be considered timely if the action is taken, or the fee paid, on the next succeeding business day on which the USPTO is open, that is, Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

Correspondence deposited in the Express Mail Service of the United States Postal Service (USPS) will be considered filed on the date of deposit (as shown by the “date-in” on the Express Mail mailing label) with the USPS. Any paper or fee properly deposited in the Express Mail Service of the USPS on Monday, January 19, 2009, or Tuesday, January 20, 2009, will be considered filed on its respective date of deposit in the Express Mail Service of the USPS (as shown by a “date-in” of January 19, 2009, or January 20, 2009, on the Express Mail mailing label, respectively).

Patent and trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically to the USPTO will be considered filed in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received the electronic transmission. Any patent and/or trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically to the USPTO on Monday, January 19, 2009, or Tuesday, January 20, 2009, will be considered filed in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received the complete electronic transmission. Correspondence successfully received by the USPTO through the patent Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) will receive the date as indicated on the Acknowledgment Receipt.