[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR102.24]

[Page 404-406]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                                COMMERCE
 
PART 102--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B--Privacy Act
 
Sec. 102.24  Procedures for making requests for records.

    (a) Any individual, regardless of age, who is a citizen of the 
United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence into 
the United States may submit a request for access to records to USPTO. 
The request should be made either in person at Two Crystal Park, 2121 
Crystal Drive, Suite 905, Arlington, Virginia, or by mail addressed to 
the Privacy Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, PO Box 
1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
    (b) Requests submitted by mail should include the words ``PRIVACY

[[Page 405]]

ACT REQUEST'' in capital letters at the top of the letter and on the 
face of the envelope. Any request which is not addressed as specified in 
paragraph (a) of this section or which is not marked as specified in 
this paragraph will be so addressed and marked by USPTO personnel and 
forwarded immediately to the Privacy Officer. A request which is not 
properly addressed by the individual will not be deemed to have been 
``received'' for purposes of measuring time periods for response until 
actual receipt by the Privacy Officer. In each instance when a request 
so forwarded is received, the Privacy Officer shall notify the 
individual that his or her request was improperly addressed and the date 
when the request was received at the proper address.
    (c) If the request follows an inquiry under Sec. 102.23 in 
connection with which the individual's identity was established by 
USPTO, the individual need only indicate the record to which access is 
sought, provide the USPTO control number assigned to the request, and 
sign and date the request. If the request is not preceded by an inquiry 
under Sec. 102.23, the procedures of this section should be followed.
    (d) The requirements for identification of individuals seeking 
access to records are as follows:
    (1) In person. Each individual making a request in person shall be 
required to present satisfactory proof of identity. The means of proof, 
in the order of preference and priority, are:
    (i) A document bearing the individual's photograph (for example, 
driver's license, passport or military or civilian identification card);
    (ii) A document, preferably issued for participation in a federally 
sponsored program, bearing the individual's signature (for example, 
unemployment insurance book, employer's identification card, national 
credit card, and professional, craft or union membership card); and
    (iii) A document bearing neither the photograph nor the signature of 
the individual, preferably issued for participation in a federally 
sponsored program (for example, Medicaid card). In the event the 
individual can provide no suitable documentation of identity, USPTO will 
require a signed statement asserting the individual's identity and 
stipulating that the individual understands the penalty provision of 5 
U.S.C. 552a(i)(3) recited in Sec. 102.32(a). In order to avoid any 
unwarranted disclosure of an individual's records, USPTO reserves the 
right to determine the adequacy of proof of identity offered by any 
individual, particularly when the request involves a sensitive record.
    (2) Not in person. If the individual making a request does not 
appear in person before the Privacy Officer or other employee authorized 
to determine identity, a certification of a notary public or equivalent 
officer empowered to administer oaths must accompany the request under 
the circumstances prescribed in Sec. 102.23(b)(9). The certification in 
or attached to the letter must be substantially in accordance with the 
following text:

City of ____
County of ____ :ss
(Name of individual), who affixed (his) (her) signature below in my 
presence, came before me, a (title), in and for the aforesaid County and 
State, this ___ day of ___, 20_, and established (his) (her) identity to 
my satisfaction.
My commission expires ____.
(Signature)

    (3) Parents of minors and legal guardians. An individual acting as 
the parent of a minor or the legal guardian of the individual to whom a 
record pertains shall establish his or her personal identity in the same 
manner prescribed in either paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section. 
In addition, such other individual shall establish his or her identity 
in the representative capacity of parent or legal guardian. In the case 
of the parent of a minor, the proof of identity shall be a certified or 
authenticated copy of the minor's birth certificate. In the case of a 
legal guardian of an individual who has been declared incompetent due to 
physical or mental incapacity or age by a court of competent 
jurisdiction, the proof of identity shall be a certified or 
authenticated copy of the court's order. For purposes of the Act, a 
parent or legal guardian may represent only a living individual, not a 
decedent. A parent or legal guardian may be accompanied during personal 
access to a record by

[[Page 406]]

another individual, provided the provisions of Sec. 102.25(f) are 
satisfied.
    (e) When the provisions of this subpart are alleged to impede an 
individual in exercising his or her right to access, USPTO will 
consider, from an individual making a request, alternative suggestions 
regarding proof of identity and access to records.
    (f) An individual shall not be required to state a reason or 
otherwise justify his or her request for access to a record.

[65 FR 52917, Aug. 31, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 14338, Mar. 25, 2003]