[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: 37CFR102.4]

[Page 382-383]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 102--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart A--Freedom of Information Act
 
Sec. 102.4  Requirements for making requests.

    (a) A request for USPTO records that are not customarily made 
available to the public as part of USPTO's regular informational 
services must be in writing, and shall be processed under FOIA, 
regardless of whether FOIA is mentioned in the request. Requests should 
be sent to the USPTO FOIA Officer, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, Washington DC 20231 (records FOIA requires to be made regularly 
available for public inspection and copying are addressed in 
Sec. 102.2(c)). For the quickest handling, the request letter and 
envelope should be marked ``Freedom of Information Act Request.'' For 
requests for records about oneself, Sec. 102.24 contains additional 
requirements. For requests for records about another individual, either 
a written authorization signed by that individual permitting disclosure 
of those

[[Page 383]]

records to the requester or proof that that individual is deceased (for 
example, a copy of a death certificate or an obituary) facilitates 
processing the request.
    (b) The records requested must be described in enough detail to 
enable USPTO personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of 
effort. Whenever possible, a request should include specific information 
about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, 
recipient, and subject matter of the record, and the name and location 
of the office where the record is located. Also, if records about a 
court case are sought, the title of the case, the court in which the 
case was filed, and the nature of the case should be included. If known, 
any file designations or descriptions for the requested records should 
be included. In general, the more specifically the request describes the 
records sought, the greater the likelihood that USPTO will locate those 
records. If the FOIA Officer determines that a request does not 
reasonably describe records, the FOIA Officer will inform the requester 
what additional information is needed or why the request is otherwise 
insufficient. The FOIA Officer also may give the requester an 
opportunity to discuss the request so that it may be modified to meet 
the requirements of this section.