United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 12 November 2002

                         SPECIAL BOXES FOR PATENT MAIL

   Special box designations should be used to allow forwarding of
particular types of mail to the appropriate areas as quickly as possible.
Such mail is forwarded to the appropriate area without being opened. Only
the specified type of document should be placed in an envelope addressed
to one of these special boxes. If any documents other than the specified
type identified for each special box are addressed to that box, they will
be significantly delayed in reaching the appropriate area for which they
are intended.

   Some correspondence may only be submitted via the Office's electronic
filing system (EFS). For example, the following publication requests must
be submitted via EFS:
   a request for publication of an application as amended during
      examination (37 CFR 1.215(c));
   a request for redacted publication (37 CFR 1.217(b));
   a request for voluntary publication of an application filed before
      November 29, 2000 (37 CFR 1.221(a)); or
   a request for republication of an application that has already been
      published (37 CFR 1.221(a)).

   Instructions on how to file such an application request via EFS are
located on the Office's Electronic Business Center on the Office's Internet
Web site http://www.uspto.gov <http://www.uspto.gov>) under the Electronic
Business Center section.

   Please address mail to be delivered by the United States Postal Service
   (USPS) as follows:

                                Box
                                Commissioner for Patents
                                Washington, D.C. 20231

   Please address mail to be delivered by other delivery services (Federal
   Express (Fed Ex), UPS, DHL, Laser, Action, Purolater, etc.) as follows:

                                U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
                                2011 South Clark Place
                                Customer Window, Box
                                Crystal Plaza Two, Lobby, Room 1B03
                                Arlington, Virginia 22202

Box Designations     Explanation

Box REISSUE          All new and continuing reissue application filings.
Box 12               Contributions to the Examiner Education Program.
Box 313(b)           Petitions under 37 CFR 1.313(c) to withdraw a patent
                     application from issue after payment of the issue
                     fee and any papers associated with the petition,
                     including papers necessary for a continuing
                     application or a request for continued examination
                     (RCE).
Box AF               Expedited procedure for processing amendments and
                     other responses after final rejection.
Box Comments         Public comments regarding patent related regulations
 Patents             and procedures.
Box Conversion       Requests under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(2) to convert a
                     nonprovisional application to a provisional
                     application and requests under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(3)
                     to convert a provisional application to a
                     nonprovisional application.
Box CPA              Requests for Continued Prosecution Applications
                     (CPA's) under 37 CFR 1.53(d).
Box DAC              Petitions decided by the Office of Petitions
                     including petitions to revive and
                     petitions to accept late payment of issue fees
                     or maintenance fees.
Box DD               Disclosure Documents or materials related to the
                     Disclosure Document Program.
Box Design           The filing of all design patent applications which
                     do not request expedited examination under
                     37 CFR 1.55.
Box Expedited        Only to be used for the initial filing of design
 Design              applications accompanied by a request for expedited
                     examination under 37 CFR 1.155. (Design applicants
                     seeking expedited examination may alternatively
                     file a design application and corresponding request
                     under 37 CFR 1.155 by hand-delivering the
                     application papers and request directly to the
                     Design Group Director's office.)
Box Issue Fee        All communications following the receipt of a
                     PTOL-85, "Notice of Allowance and Issue Fee Due,"
                     and prior to the issuance of a patent should be
                     addressed to Box Issue Fee, unless advised to the
                     contrary. Assignments are the exception.
                     Assignments should be submitted in a
                     separate envelope and not be sent to Box Issue Fee.
Box Missing Parts    Response to the Notice to File Missing Parts of
                     Application and associated papers and fees.
Box MPEP             Submissions concerning the Manual of Patent
                     Examining Procedures.
Box Non-Fee          Non-fee amendments to patent applications.
 Amendment           (Use Box AF for responses after final rejection.)
Box PATENT           New patent applications and associated papers and
 APPLICATION         fees.
Box Patent Ext.      Applications for patent term extension and any
                     communications relating thereto.
Box PGPUB            Correspondence regarding publication of patent
                     applications not otherise provided.
Box PGPUB - ABD      Petitions under 37 CFR 1.138 to expressly abandon an
                     application to avoid publication of the application.
Box PGPUB            Drawings to be included in a patent application
 DRAWINGS            publication (replacement drawings for drawings
                     included with a patent application on filing).
Box PCT              Mail related to applications filed under the
                     Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Box Provisional      The filing of all provisional patent applications
 Patent Application  and any communications relating thereto.
Box RCE              Requests for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114.
Box Reconstruction   Correspondence pertaining to the reconstruction
                     of lost patent files.
Box Reexam           Requests for Reexamination for original request
                     papers only.
Box Sequence         Submission of diskette for biotechnical
                     application.
Box SN               For fee and petitions under 37 CFR 1.182 to
                     obtain date received and/or application number for
                     patent applications prior to the Office's standard
                     notification (return post card or the official
                     "Filing Receipt," "Notice to File Missing Parts,"
                     or "Notice of Incomplete Application").

                       SPECIAL BOXES FOR TRADEMARK MAIL

   Special box designations should be used to allow forwarding of
particular types of trademark mail to the appropriate areas as quickly as
possible. In addition to these box designations, filers are encouraged to
indicate whether the contents of the envelope contain a fee. Envelopes
containing a fee should be marked "FEE;" envelopes not containing a fee
should be marked "NO FEE." Box designations and "FEE/NO FEE" indicators
should appear on the envelope as well as on the cover sheet or first page
of any document.

   Please address mail to be delivered by the United States Postal Service
   (USPS) as follows:

                                Box
                                FEE (or NO FEE)
                                Commissioner for Trademarks
                                2900 Crystal Drive
                                Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513

Box Designations     Explanation

Box NEW APP FEE      New trademark applications and fees.
Box ITU FEE          Statements of Use (SOUs), and extension requests.
Box TTAB FEE         Oppositions, cancellation petitions, and ex parte
                     appeals.
Box TTAB NO FEE      Interferences, motions, and extension requests.
Box STATUS NO FEE    Written status inquiries.
Box POST REG FEE     Affidavits, renewals, corrections and amendments.
Box RESPONSES        Responses to Examining Attorneys' Office actions and
 NO FEE              Post Registration actions.

                          SPECIAL BOXES APPLICABLE TO
                        BOTH PATENT AND TRADEMARK MAIL

   The following special box designations are applicable to both patent
and trademark related mail, and the recommendations for "Special Boxes
for Patent Mail" (above) should be followed for the types of mail listed
below.

   Please address mail to be delivered by the United States Postal Service
   (USPS) as follows (unless otherwise instructed):

                                Box
                                Director - U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
                                Washington, D.C. 20231

Box Designations   Explanation

Box 3              Mail for the Office of Personnel from NFC.
Box 4              Mail for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce
                   and Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks;
                   Office of Legislative and International Affairs.
Box 6              Mail for the Office of Procurement.
Box 8              All papers for the Office of the Solicitor except
                   communications relating to pending litigation and
                   disciplinary proceedings; papers relating to pending
                   litigation in court cases shall be mailed only to
                   Office of the Solicitor, P.O. Box 15667, Arlington,
                   Virginia 22215 and papers related to pending
                   disciplinary proceedings before the Administrative
                   Law Judge or the Commissioner shall be mailed only to
                   the Office of the Solicitor, P.O. Box 16116, Arlington,
                   Virginia 22215.
Box 10             Orders for certified copies of PTO documents.
Box 11             Electronic Ordering Service (EOS).
Box 13             Mail for the Employee and Labor Relations Division.
Box 14             Mail directed to the APS Contracts Office.
Box 16             Mail related to refund requests.
Box 17             Invoices directed to the Office of Finance.
Box 24             Mail for the Inventor's Assistance Program.
Box 171            Vacancy Announcement Applications.
Box Assignment     All assignment documents except those filed with new
                   applications.
Box EEO            Mail for the Office of Civil Rights.
Box Interference   Communications relating to interferences
                   and applications and patents involved in interference.
Box M              Correspondence related to maintenance fees other than
 Correspondence    payments of maintenance fees in patents.
                   Payments of maintenance fees in patents not submitted
                   electronically over the Internet at www.uspto.gov
                   should be mailed to:

                                United States Patent and Trademark Office
                                P.O. Box 371611
                                Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611

Box OED            Mail for the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.
Deposit Account    To send payment to replenish deposit accounts
 Replenishments
                                Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
                                P.O. Box 70541
                                Chicago, IL 60673

Refund Requests    To send refund requests

                                Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
                                Box 16
                                Washington, D.C. 20231