| Mail Issues, Office Closures, Postal Emergencies, etc. |
Referenced Items (1, 2, 3, 4, 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, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110) |
(9) Closing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on Thursday, January 9, 2025
Due to the official closing of federal government offices in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on Thursday, January 9, 2025, the day
proclaimed by President Biden as a National Day of Mourning, the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) considers that date a "Federal
holiday within the District of Columbia" under 35 U.S.C. 21 and 37 CFR 1.6,
1.7, 1.9, 2.2(d), 2.195, and 2.196. Any action or fee due on Thursday,
January 9, 2025, will be deemed as timely for the purposes of 15 U.S.C.
1051(d), 1058, 1059, 1062(b), 1063, 1064, 1126(d), 1141g, and 1141k, or
35 U.S.C. 119, 120, 133, and 151, if the action was taken or the fee was
paid no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, January 10, 2025, which was the
next business day the USPTO was open (37 CFR 1.7(a) and 2.196).
An actual filing date of Thursday, January 9, was also available under
existing procedures. Specifically, 37 CFR 1.6(a)(2), 2.195(b), and 2.198
provide that any correspondence properly deposited in the Priority Mail
Express service of the United States Postal Service (USPS), in
accordance with 37 CFR 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 correspondence properly deposited in the Priority Mail
Express service of the USPS on Thursday, January 9, in accordance with
37 CFR 1.10 or 2.198, will be deemed filed on Thursday, January 9 (as shown
by a "date accepted" of Thursday, January 9, on the mailing label). See the
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 513 and the Trademark Manual
of Examining Procedure (TMEP) § 305.03. For correspondence being mailed or
transmitted with a certificate of mailing or transmission in accordance
with 37 CFR 1.8 and 2.197, see MPEP § 512 and TMEP § 305.02, respectively.
That said, in general, trademark filings may not be submitted through
the USPS. With limited exceptions, all trademark correspondence must be
submitted through the Trademark electronic filing system. 37 CFR 2.23(a).
Additionally, in general, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) filings
may not be submitted through the USPS. With limited exceptions, all TTAB
correspondence must be submitted through the TTAB's electronic filing
system. See Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP)
§ 110. As for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), in general,
documents for inter partes proceedings established under the Leahy-Smith
America Invents Act (AIA) may not be submitted through the USPS. Unless
otherwise specifically authorized by the PTAB, all AIA documents must be
submitted through the Patent Trial and Appeal Case Tracking System. See
37 CFR 42.6(b).
As for patent- and trademark-related correspondence transmitted
electronically to the USPTO, pursuant to 37 CFR 1.6(a)(4) and 2.195(a),
those papers 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 Thursday,
January 9, will be deemed filed in the USPTO on the date the USPTO received
the electronic transmission. Patent correspondence successfully received by
the USPTO through the USPTO patent electronic filing system (Patent Center)
and filed in compliance with the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic
System will receive the date indicated on the Acknowledgement Receipt. See,
e.g., MPEP § 502.05. Trademark and TTAB filings properly filed through
their respective electronic filing systems will receive the date indicated
in the email confirmation sent at the time of a successful filing. See TMEP
§ 301 and TBMP § 110.09 regarding electronic filing.
January 15, 2025 DERRICK L. BRENT
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1531 OG 235]
Top of Notices (9) December 30, 2025