[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: 37CFR1.6] [Page 16-17] 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. 1.6 Receipt of correspondence. (a) Date of receipt and Express Mail date of deposit. Correspondence received in the Patent and Trademark Office is stamped with the date of receipt except as follows: (1) The Patent and Trademark Office is not open for the filing of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. Except for correspondence transmitted by facsimile under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, or filed electronically under paragraph (a)(4) of this section, no correspondence is received in the Office on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of Columbia. (2) Correspondence filed in accordance with Sec. 1.10 will be stamped with the date of deposit as ``Express Mail'' with the United States Postal Service. (3) Correspondence transmitted by facsimile to the Patent and Trademark Office will be stamped with the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Patent and Trademark Office unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, in which case the date stamped will be the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. (4) Trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically will be stamped with the date on which the Office receives the transmission. (b) Patent and Trademark Office Post Office pouch. Mail placed in the Patent and Trademark Office pouch up to midnight on any day, except Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays within the District of Columbia, by the post office at Washington, DC, serving the Patent and Trademark Office, is considered as having been received in the Patent and Trademark Office on the day it was so placed in the pouch by the U.S. Postal Service. (c) Correspondence delivered by hand. In addition to being mailed, correspondence may be delivered by hand during hours the Office is open to receive correspondence. (d) Facsimile transmission. Except in the cases enumerated below, correspondence, including authorizations to charge a deposit account, may be transmitted by facsimile. The receipt date accorded to the correspondence will be the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Patent and Trademark Office, unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See Sec. 1.6(a)(3). To facilitate proper processing, each transmission session should be limited to correspondence to be filed in a single application or other proceeding before the Patent and Trademark Office. The application number of a patent or trademark application, the control number of a reexamination proceeding, the interference number of an interference proceeding, the patent number of a patent, or the registration number of a trademark should be entered as a part of the sender's identification on a facsimile cover sheet. Facsimile transmissions are not permitted and if submitted, will not be accorded a date of receipt, in the following situations: (1) Correspondence as specified in Sec. 1.4(e), requiring an original signature; (2) Certified documents as specified in Sec. 1.4(f); (3) Correspondence which cannot receive the benefit of the certificate of mailing or transmission as specified in Sec. 1.8(a)(2)(i) (A) through (D) and (F), Sec. 1.8(a)(2)(ii)(A), and Sec. 1.8(a)(2)(iii)(A), except that a continued prosecution application under Sec. 1.53(d) may be transmitted to the Office by facsimile; (4) Drawings submitted under Secs. 1.81, 1.83 through 1.85, 1.152, 1.165, 1.174, 1.437, 2.51, 2.52, or 2.72; (5) A request for reexamination under Sec. 1.510 or Sec. 1.913; (6) Correspondence to be filed in a patent application subject to a secrecy order under Secs. 5.1 through 5.5 of this chapter and directly related to the secrecy order content of the application; (7) Requests for cancellation or amendment of a registration under section 7(e) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1057(e); and certificates of registration surrendered for cancellation or amendment under section 7(e) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1057(e); (8) Correspondence to be filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, except the notice of ex parte appeal; (9) Correspondence to be filed in an interference proceeding which consists [[Page 17]] of a preliminary statement under Sec. 1.621; a transcript of a deposition under Sec. 1.676 or of interrogatories, or cross- interrogatories; or an evidentiary record and exhibits under Sec. 1.653. (e) Interruptions in U.S. Postal Service. If interruptions or emergencies in the United States Postal Service which have been so designated by the Commissioner occur, the Patent and Trademark Office will consider as filed on a particular date in the Office any correspondence which is: (1) Promptly filed after the ending of the designated interruption or emergency; and (2) Accompanied by a statement indicating that such correspondence would have been filed on that particular date if it were not for the designated interruption or emergency in the United States Postal Service. (f) Facsimile transmission of a patent application under Sec. 1.53(d). In the event that the Office has no evidence of receipt of an application under Sec. 1.53(d) (a continued prosecution application) transmitted to the Office by facsimile transmission, the party who transmitted the application under Sec. 1.53(d) may petition the Commissioner to accord the application under Sec. 1.53(d) a filing date as of the date the application under Sec. 1.53(d) is shown to have been transmitted to and received in the Office, (1) Provided that the party who transmitted such application under Sec. 1.53(d): (i) Informs the Office of the previous transmission of the application under Sec. 1.53(d) promptly after becoming aware that the Office has no evidence of receipt of the application under Sec. 1.53(d); (ii) Supplies an additional copy of the previously transmitted application under Sec. 1.53(d); and (iii) Includes a statement which attests on a personal knowledge basis or to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to the previous transmission of the application under Sec. 1.53(d) and is accompanied by a copy of the sending unit's report confirming transmission of the application under Sec. 1.53(d) or evidence that came into being after the complete transmission and within one business day of the complete transmission of the application under Sec. 1.53(d). (2) The Office may require additional evidence to determine if the application under Sec. 1.53(d) was transmitted to and received in the Office on the date in question. [58 FR 54501, Oct. 22, 1993; 58 FR 64154, Dec. 6, 1993; 61 FR 56447, Nov. 1, 1996; 62 FR 53180, Oct. 10, 1997; 64 FR 48917, Sept. 8, 1999; 65 FR 54657, Sept. 8, 2000; 65 FR 76772, Dec. 7, 2000]