United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 20 January 2004

           Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
                         on Friday, December 26, 2003

   In view of the official closing of the Federal Government
offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), on Friday, December 26,
2003, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will consider
Friday, December 26, 2003, a "Federal holiday within the District of
Columbia" under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 21 and 37 C.F.R. Secs. 1.6, 1.7, 1.9,
2.2(d), 2.195, and 2.196. Any action or fee due on Friday, December 26,
2003, will be considered as timely for the purposes of, e.g., 35 U.S.C.
Secs. 119, 120, 133 and 151, if the action is taken, or the fee is paid,
on the next succeeding business day on which the USPTO was open, that
is, Monday, December 29, 2003.

   37 C.F.R. Secs. 1.6(x)(2) and 2.195(a)(4) provide that
correspondence deposited as Express Mail in accordance with 37 C.F.R.
Sec. 1.10 or 2.198 will be considered as filed on the date of deposit
with the United States Postal Service (USPS). Thus, any paper or fee
properly deposited in accordance with 37 C.F.R. Sec. 1.10 or 2.198 with
the Express Mail service of the USPS on Friday, December 26, 2003 (that
is, as shown by a "date-in" of Friday, December 26, 2003, on the
Express Mail mailing label) will be considered filed in the USPTO on
its date of deposit in the Express Mail service of the USPS. 37 C.F.R.
Sec. 2.195(a2) provides that trademark-related correspondence transmitted
electronically to the USPTO will be considered filed in the USPTO on
the date the USPTO receives the electronic transmission. Thus,
trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically on Friday,
December 26, 2003, will be considered filed in the USPTO on the date
the USPTO received the electronic transmission. Correspondence
successfully received by the USPTO through the patent Electronic Filing
System will receive the date as indicated on the Acknowledgment
Receipt.

   Inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to Fred
Silverberg by e-mail at fred.silverberg@uspto.gov or telephone at
703-305-8986.

December 22, 2003                                            JAMES E. ROGAN
                                            Under Secretary of Commerce for
                                  Intellectual Property and Director of the
                                  United States Patent and Trademark Office