Patent and Trademark Office November 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') is adopting as a final rule, with minor changes, an interim final rule amending the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (``Madrid Rules'') to implement the Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010. The interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2010. This final rule makes minor changes to the interim final rule to incorporate additional statutory language being implemented.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is discontinuing the mass mailing of revised paper fee schedules to registered attorneys, agents, and deposit account holders when fees are adjusted due to enactment of legislation or fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index. Since a substantial majority of filings and fee payments are submitted on-line, and the most up-to-date fee schedule is always available and maintained on-line, the USPTO has discontinued the mass mailing of the paper fee schedules. The current fee schedule is essentially built into the on-line systems (e.g., EFS-Web, TEAS, accessible through the USPTO home page, etc.), which display the current fee amounts required at the time of submitting the payment.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an Order Granting Interim Extension for a third one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 5,407,914.