Top of Notices Top of Notices   (18)  December 31, 2019 US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Print This Notice 1469 CNOG  48 

Mail Issues, Office Closures, Postal Emergencies, etc. Referenced Items (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100)
(18)     Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
                       on Monday, December 24, 2018

   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 Monday, December 24, 2018, the USPTO will
consider Monday, December 24, 2018, to be a "Federal holiday within the
District of Columbia" under 35 U.S.C. § 21 and 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.6, 1.7, 1.9,
2.2(d), 2.195, and 2.196. Since Tuesday, December 25, 2018, is a holiday,
any action or fee due on Monday, December 24, 2018, or Tuesday,
December 25, 2018, will be deemed as timely for the purposes of, e.g.,
15 U.S.C. §§ 1051(d), 1058, 1059, 1062(b), 1063, 1064, 1126(d), and 1141k,
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, 2018 (37 C.F.R. §§ 1.7(a) and 2.196), no later
than 11:59 pm EST.

   As indicated in the preceding paragraph, the USPTO will consider actions
or fees due on Monday, December 24, 2018, or Tuesday, December 25, 2018, to
be timely if taken or paid on the next business day on which the USPTO is
open, that is, Wednesday, December 26, 2018. An actual filing date of
Monday, December 24, 2018, or Tuesday, December 25, 2018, also is available
under existing procedures. Specifically, 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.6(a)(2),
2.195(a)(4), and 2.198 provide that certain correspondence deposited in the
Priority Mail Express® service of the United States Postal Service (USPS)
in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.10 or 2.198 will be deemed filed on the
date of deposit (as shown by the "date accepted" on the mailing label) with
the USPS. Thus, any paper or fee properly deposited in the Priority Mail
Express® service of the USPS on Monday, December 24, 2018, or Tuesday,
December 25, 2018, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.10 or 2.198, will be
deemed filed on its respective date of deposit in the Priority Mail
Express® service of the USPS (as shown by a "date accepted" of Monday,
December 24, 2018, or Tuesday, December 25, 2018, on the mailing label).

   In addition, 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.6(a)(4) and 2.195(a)(2) provide that patent-
and trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically to the
USPTO will be deemed filed in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received
the electronic transmission. Thus, any patent- or trademark-related
correspondence transmitted electronically to the USPTO on Monday,
December 24, 2018, or Tuesday, December 25, 2018, will be considered filed
in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received the electronic transmission.
Patent correspondence successfully received by the USPTO through the
Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) and filed in compliance with the EFS-Web
Legal Framework will receive the date indicated on the Acknowledgement
Receipt. See the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 502.05 and
the USPTO website. Trademark filings properly filed through TEAS, TEASi,
and ESSTA will receive the date indicated in the e-mail confirmation sent
at the time of a successful filing. See the Trademark Manual of Examining
Procedure (TMEP) § 301 and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of
Procedure (TBMP) § 110.09 regarding electronic filing.

December 21, 2018                                              ANDREI IANCU
                  Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
                  Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

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