[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.1]

[Page 12-13]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A--General Provisions
 
Sec. 1.1  Addresses for correspondence with the Patent and Trademark Office.

                 General Information and Correspondence


    (a) Except for paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (ii), and (d)(1) of this 
section, all correspondence intended for the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office must be addressed to either ``Commissioner of Patents 
and Trademarks, Washington, DC 20231'' or to specific areas within the 
Office as set out in paragraphs (a)(1), (2) and (3)(iii) of this 
section. When appropriate, correspondence should also be marked for the 
attention of a particular office or individual.
    (1) Patent correspondence. All correspondence concerning patent 
matters processed by organizations reporting to the Assistant 
Commissioner for Patents should be addressed to ``Assistant Commissioner 
for Patents, Washington, DC 20231.''
    (2) Trademark correspondence. (i) Send all trademark filings and 
correspondence, except as specified below or unless submitting 
electronically, to: Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks, 2900 Crystal 
Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513.
    (ii) Send trademark-related documents for the Assignment Division to 
record to: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Box Assignment, 
Washington, DC 20231.
    (iii) Send requests for certified or uncertified copies of trademark 
applications and registrations, other than coupon orders for uncertified 
copies of registrations, to: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Box 
10, Washington, DC 20231.
    (iv) Send requests for coupon orders for uncertified copies of 
registrations to: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Box 9, 
Washington, DC 20231.
    (v) An applicant may transmit an application for trademark 
registration electronically, but only if the applicant uses the Patent 
and Trademark Office's electronic form.
    (3) Office of Solicitor correspondence. (i) Correspondence relating 
to pending litigation required by court rule or order to be served on 
the Solicitor shall be hand-delivered to the Office of the Solicitor or 
shall be mailed to: Office of the Solicitor, P.O. Box 15667, Arlington, 
Virginia 22215; or such other address as may be designated in writing in 
the litigation. See Secs. 1.302(c) and 2.145(b)(3) for filing a notice 
of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
    (ii) Correspondence relating to disciplinary proceedings pending 
before an Administrative Law Judge or the Commissioner shall be mailed 
to: Office of the Solicitor, P.O. Box 16116, Arlington, Virginia 22215.

[[Page 13]]

    (iii) All other correspondence to the Office of the Solicitor shall 
be addressed to: Box 8, Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, 
Washington, DC 20231.
    (iv) Correspondence improperly addressed to a Post Office Box 
specified in paragraphs (a)(3) (i) and (ii) of this section will not be 
filed elsewhere in the Patent and Trademark Office, and may be returned.
    (b) Letters and other communications relating to international 
applications during the international stage and prior to the assignment 
of a national serial number should be additionally marked ``Box PCT.''
    (c) Requests for reexamination should be additionally marked ``Box 
Reexam.''
    (d) Maintenance fee correspondence.--(1) Payments of maintenance 
fees in patents not submitted electronically over the Internet should be 
mailed to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 371611, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611.
    (2) Correspondence related to maintenance fees other than payments 
of maintenance fees in patents is not to be mailed to P.O. Box 371611, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611, but must be mailed to: Box M Correspondence, 
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, DC 20231.
    (e) Communications relating to interferences and applications or 
patents involved in an interference should be additionally marked ``BOX 
INTERFERENCE.''
    (f) All applications for extension of patent term and any 
communications relating thereto intended for the Patent and Trademark 
Office should be additionally marked ``Box Patent Ext.'' When 
appropriate, the communication should also be marked to the attention of 
a particular individual, as where a decision has been rendered.
    (g) [Reserved]
    (h) In applications under section 1(b) of the Trademark Act, 15 
U.S.C. 1051(b), all statements of use filed under section 1(d) of the 
Act, and requests for extensions of time therefor, should be 
additionally marked ``Box ITU.''
    (i) The filing of all provisional applications and any 
communications relating thereto should be additionally marked ``Box 
Provisional Patent Application.''
    Note: Sections 1.1 to 1.26 are applicable to trademark cases as well 
as to national and international patent cases except for provisions 
specifically directed to patent cases. See Sec. 1.9 for definitions of 
``national application'' and ``international application.''

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685)

[46 FR 29181, May 29, 1981, as amended at 49 FR 34724, Aug. 31, 1984; 49 
FR 48451, Dec. 12, 1984; 52 FR 9394, Mar. 24, 1987; 53 FR 16413, May 9, 
1988; 54 FR 37588, Sept. 11, 1989; 60 FR 20220, Apr. 25, 1995; 61 FR 
56446, Nov. 1, 1996; 64 FR 48917, Sept. 8, 1999; 67 FR 39448, July 31, 
2002]