Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on Monday, December 24, 2001
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be closed on Monday, December 24, 2001. Since Tuesday, December 25, 2001 is a Federal holiday, the USPTO will consider each of Monday, December 24, 2001, and Tuesday, December 25, 2001, to be a "Federal holiday within the District of Columbia" under 35 U.S.C. § 21(b) and 37 C.F.R. 1.6, 1.7 and 1.9. Any action or fee due on those days (or the preceding Saturday (December 22, 2001) or Sunday (December 23, 2001)) will be considered as timely for the purposes of, e.g., 15 U.S.C §§ 1051(b), 1058, 1059, 1062(b), 1063, 1064, 1126(d), or 35 U.S.C. §§ 119, 120, 133 and 151, if the action is taken, or the fee paid, on the next succeeding business day on which the USPTO is open, that is, Wednesday, December 26, 2001. 37 C.F.R. 1.7(a).
37 C.F.R. 1.6(a)(2) provides that correspondence deposited in the Express Mail Service of the United States Postal Service (USPS) in accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.10 will be considered filed on the date of deposit (as shown by the "date-in" on the Express Mail mailing label) with the USPS, and 37 C.F.R. 1.6(a)(4) provides that trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically will be considered filed on the date the USPTO receives the electronic transmission. Thus, any paper or fee properly deposited in the Express Mail Service of the USPS on December 24, 2001, or December 25, 2001, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.10 will be considered filed on its date of deposit in the Express Mail Service of the USPS (as shown by a "date-in" of December 24, 2001, or December 25, 2001, on the Express Mail mailing label), and any trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically on either December 24, 2001, or December 25, 2001, will be considered filed on the date of receipt of the electronic transmission.
Information regarding whether or not the USPTO is officially closed on any particular day may be obtained by calling 1-800-786-9199 or 703-308-4357.
| Date: | Signed: |
|---|---|
| 13 December 2001 | /s/ |
| James E. Rogan Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office |