April 7, 2014
The Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) will be conducting a survey of active registered practitioners pursuant to 37 CFR § 11.11. The purpose of the survey is to ascertain whether the practitioners desire to remain on the register and/or whether they need to update their contact information with OED. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) benefits from the survey by obtaining confirmation that OED's records regarding each practitioner's address and telephone number are correct, or by receiving updated information. In the past, the survey has prompted some individuals to advise OED of the deaths of other practitioners.
At the present time, there are approximately 50,000 active registered practitioners. A register of all active registered practitioners is found on the OED website. The survey is being conducted of a portion of the active registered practitioners at a time. Information regarding future surveys will be posted on the OED website.
A survey letter will be mailed on or about June 30, 2014, to active registered practitioners whose registration numbers are between 35,000 and 39,999. Enclosed with the survey letter will be a blue Data Sheet, which practitioners must complete and return to OED within forty-five (45) days of the date the survey is mailed. The survey will be mailed to the official address on file with OED. Practitioners must reply to the survey letter even if the current contact information is correct.
Any practitioner who fails to reply and give the information requested by the OED Director will be mailed a notice of non-compliance and be afforded 60 days to come into compliance by providing the requested information and paying a delinquency fee. Thereafter, practitioners who have failed to come into compliance will be issued a Rule to Show Cause Order requiring them to show cause why they should not be administratively suspended from practice before the USPTO. Practitioners who fail to respond to the Rule to Show Cause within 30 days will be administratively suspended from practice before the USPTO.
A practitioner on the roster with a registration number between 35,000 and 39,999, should receive the survey letter and blue Data Sheet within one week of the mailing date of the survey. If a practitioner does not receive the survey within one week of the mailing date of the survey, the practitioner should contact OED via mail addressed to: Mail Stop OED, Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, or via e-mail addressed to: OED@USPTO.gov.
If an individual's name is not on the roster, and the individual's registration number is between 35,000 and 39,999, the individual's name has been endorsed as inactive on the roster. Individuals whose names are endorsed as inactive include those who failed to reply to previous surveys, or requested to be removed from the roster, as well as individuals employed by the USPTO. No survey will be sent to these individuals.
Practitioners having a registration number below 35,000 or above 39,999 are not in the current survey. Accordingly, it is not necessary for them to call or advise OED that they did not receive the survey. A survey will be sent to them in the future.
Practitioners should check and verify their mailing address information regularly. Practitioner contact information must be updated within 30 days of any change. See 37 CFR § 11.11. For information on how to verify your current address, visit the On-line Change of Address for Practitioners page at: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/practitioner/changeinfo.jsp
William R. Covey
Deputy General Counsel for Enrollment and Discipline and
Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline