United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 08 January 2002

              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.

December 13, 2001                                            JAMES E. ROGAN
                                            Under Secretary of Commerce for
                                                  Intellectual Property and
                                              Director of the United States
                                                Patent and Trademark Office