Filing Documents During a TEAS or Power Outage

Report Outage to TEAS

If you experience technical difficulties with TEAS, immediately e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov.  Please include:  (1) your name; (2) telephone number; (3) application serial number or registration number; (4) a description of your issue, including the name of the TEAS form you are having problems with (e.g., Response to Office Action Form, Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use, etc.); and (5) a screen shot of any error message that you are receiving.

The TEAS team will make every attempt to assist you in addressing your particular problem and appreciates all notifications about the outage to be directed to them.

Alternative Methods of Filing

1.    File via Facsimile (Fax) Transmission

See TMEP §306 for additional information on fax transmission of documents.

Eligible Documents:

All documents except those listed below may be filed by fax.  The documents listed below may not be filed by fax, and will not be given a filing date if filed by fax.

1. trademark applications;
2. amendments to drawings;
3. requests to cancel or amend registrations or requests to surrender registrations;
4. documents to be filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, except for notices of ex parte appeal;
5. Madrid Protocol documents, including applications for international registration.

Fax Machines Designated to Accept Relevant Trademark Documents:

Submissions by fax should be transmitted to the work unit or location for which they are intended.  TMEP §306.02.  See the USPTO Contacts List for a listing of relevant work unit fax numbers.

Use a Certificate of Facsimile Transmission:

A certificate of transmission should be used when a document is faxed.  See TMEP §306.05. The filer must retain a copy of the faxed documents, including the signed and dated certificate of facsimile transmission, as proof of filing.  The following complete wording is suggested for the certificate of transmission:

CERTIFICATE OF TRANSMISSION

I hereby certify that this correspondence is being facsimile transmitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the date shown below.

____________________________________________

(Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing Certificate)

____________________________________________

(Signature)

____________________________________________

(Date)

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 2.    File via Mail

See TMEP §305 for additional information on mailing documents to the USPTO.

Eligible Documents:

All trademark documents may be filed by mail.  The filing date of the document is the date the document is received by the USPTO.

Mailing Addresses Designated to Accept Relevant Trademark Documents:

• Trademark-Related Documents

        Commissioner for Trademarks

        P.O. Box 1451

        Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1451

• Madrid Protocol Documents

        Madrid Processing Unit

        600 Dulany Street

        MDE-7B87

        Alexandria, Virginia 22314-5793

• Assignment Services Branch Documents

        Mail Stop Assignment Recordation Services

        Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

        P.O. Box 1450

        Alexandria VA 22313-1450

• Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Documents

        ATTN: Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

        Commissioner for Trademarks

        P.O. Box 1451

        Alexandria, VA 22313-1451

A list of addresses for mailing documents is available on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/mail.jsp.

Use a Certificate of Mailing

In certain situations documents filed on paper through the U.S. Postal Service with a certificate of mailing as set forth below will be considered timely as of the date on the certificate.  TMEP §305.02(e).

Some filings, including new applications and certain Madrid Protocol documents, may  not be filed using the certificate of mailing procedure.  For a complete list of documents that may not be filed using the certificate of mailing procedure, see TMEP §305.02(a).

The filer must retain a copy of the mailed documents, including the signed and dated certificate of mailing, as proof of filing.  The following complete wording is suggested for the certificate of mailing:

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING

I hereby certify that this correspondence is being deposited with the United States Postal Service as first class mail in an envelope addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1451 on the date shown below:

____________________________________________

(Typed or Printed Name of Person Signing Certificate)

____________________________________________

(Signature)

____________________________________________

(Date)

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3.    Hand or Courier Delivery of Documents

Documents may be hand-delivered or delivered by courier to the USPTO between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, at the following address:

        Trademark Assistance Center

        James Madison Building - East Wing

        Concourse Level-Room C55

        600 Dulany Street

        Alexandria, VA  22314

The hours listed above for hand-or courier-delivery of documents to the USPTO are subject to change in the event of local emergencies or government closures affecting the USPTO. 

The USPTO strongly encourages parties who are hand-delivering trademark correspondence to the USPTO to bring it directly to the Trademark Assistance Center at the address listed above. However, the USPTO will accept trademark correspondence hand-delivered to the Customer Service Window located in the Randolph Building, 401 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia. The Customer Service Window is open from 8:30 a.m. until 12:00 midnight, Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays within the District of Columbia. 

See TMEP §307 for additional information on hand delivery of documents to the USPTO.

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Filing Receipt

When mailing documents to the USPTO, if the filer wants a receipt, he or she should provide a self-addressed stamped postcard identifying the document being submitted, which will be date-labeled and mailed back.  If the filer wants a receipt for documents being hand delivered or delivered by courier to the USPTO, he or she should provide a card listing the applicant's name, the application serial number or registration number, the mark, the title or a description of the document being filed, and a listing of the items submitted with the filing (e.g., drawing,specimen, fee).  The card will be date-labeled and handed back to the person delivering the document.  

See TMEP §303.02(c) for detailed information on filing receipts for documents submitted to the USPTO.

Fee Payment Information

Information about paying fees using a particular method of payment, including instructions and forms, is available on the Trademark Fee Information page. See also TMEP §§405 et seq.  The most common methods of payment include:

• Credit Cards accepted are VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.  To pay by credit card when not using TEAS, you must submit a "Credit Card Payment Form."
• USPTO Deposit Accounts can be established and maintained for a fee.  Please review the additional information on deposit accounts.
• Check or Money Orders must be made payable to “Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”  There is a $50 processing fee for any check returned to the USPTO unpaid.

Please review the current fee schedule for information on trademark processing fees.

Filing Requirements for Documents

If you do not have a USPTO paper form for filing a document, the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) specifies the filing requirements for particular documents.  Below are the relevant TMEP sections for commonly filed documents.

• Initial Trademark Application:  See TMEP Chapter 800.
• Responses to Office Actions:
  • General Information:  Most responses to Office actions must be received within 6 months from the mailing date on the Office action.  In certain circumstances, the Office action will specify a different response period. Each refusal and/or requirement raised in the Office action and the desired changes must be explicitly addressed in the response.  If the Office action includes a refusal, arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn must be provided.  The Office action may be viewed at http://tsdr.uspto.gov/.  Enter the application serial number or registration number and click the “Documents” button.
  • Examining Attorney Responses to Office Actions:  See TMEP §711.
  • Post Registration Section 8 Responses to Office Action:  See TMEP §1604.16.
  • Post Registration Section 9 Responses to Office Action:  See TMEP §1606.12.
  • Post Registration Section 71 Responses to Office Action:  See TMEP §1613.16.
• Statement of Use:  See TMEP §1109.06.
• Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use:  See TMEP §1108.02.
• Petition to Revive Abandoned Application:  See TMEP §1714.
• Petition to the Director:  See TMEP §1702.
• Request to Divide Application:  See TMEP §1110.
• Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse under Section 8:  See TMEP §1604.05.
• Application for Renewal under Section 9:  See TMEP §1606.02.
• Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse under Section 71:  See TMEP §1613.05.
• Application for International Registration:  See TMEP §1902.  When filing on paper, applicants must submit the official international application form issued by the International Bureau (IB) of WIPO, the MM2 form, to the USPTO.  This form is available on the IB website at http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/.  If you have a priority filing deadline of today for an “Application for International Registration,” please fill out the MM2 form and then file a “Petition to the Director under Trademark Rule 2.146” (http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/petition_forms.jsp) using the basic application serial or registration number.  Attach the MM2 form in the “File Upload” section.  Request that the $100 petition fee be applied to the U.S. certification fee(s).  Indicate whether you would like to be contacted to provide the international application fees, that you authorize payment to USPTO deposit account or that you will pay WIPO directly.  You will be notified of any certification fee deficiency. Once the petition is filed, contact the Petitions Office at 571-272-8950 and let them know that an International Application was filed by petition.  Provide the basic application serial or registration number used for filing the petition and request that processing be expedited.

NOTE:  For Trademark Trial and Appeal Filings, please see the TBMP.

Additional Information to Include in Filings

All trademark documents filed in the USPTO should include:

1. U.S. trademark application serial number or registration number;
2. owner name;
3. application filing date or registration date;
4. mark;
5. a title indicating the nature of the document;
6. name, address (including ZIP code), and telephone number of the applicant/registrant or the applicant’s/registrant’s attorney; and
7. applicant’s/registrant’s or attorney’s e-mail address.

For additional information on trademark correspondence and signature requirements, see TMEP §302.