Legal Status This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily
Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal
Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official
electronic version on GPO’s govinfo.gov.

The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal
Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the
corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. This prototype edition of the
daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial
informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status.
For complete information about, and access to, our official publications
and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA's archives.gov.

The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable
regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of
establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned
publication in the future. While every effort has been made to ensure that
the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with
the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for
legal research should verify their results against an official edition of
the Federal Register. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML
rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not
provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts.

Legal Status

Rule

You may be interested in this older document that published on 12/13/2019 with action 'Final rule; correction.' View Document

Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing

A Rule by the Patent and Trademark Office on 12/18/2019

• 1.

1.

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office Agency/Docket Number Docket No. PTO-T-2017-0004 CFR 37 CFR 2 37 CFR 7 Document Citation 84 FR 69330 Document Number 2019-27426 Document Type Rule Pages 69330-69331
  (2 pages) Publication Date 12/18/2019 RIN 0651-AD15 Published Content - Document Details

• PDF Official Content

  • View printed version (PDF) Official Content

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office Agency/Docket Number Docket No. PTO-T-2017-0004 CFR 37 CFR 2 37 CFR 7 Document Citation 84 FR 69330 Document Number 2019-27426 Document Type Rule Pages 69330-69331
  (2 pages) Publication Date 12/18/2019 RIN 0651-AD15 Published Content - Document Details

• Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Effective Date 2020-02-15 Dates Text The effective date of the final rule published on July 31, 2019 (84 FR 37081), delayed on October 2, 2019 (84 FR 52363), is further delayed from December 21, 2019 to February 15, 2020. The correction published on December 13, 2019 (84 FR 68045), is delayed from December 21, 2019 to February 15, 2020. Published Content - Document Dates

• Table of Contents Enhanced Content - Table of Contents This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the
  headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents.
  This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links
  has no substantive legal effect.

  • AGENCY:
  • ACTION:
  • SUMMARY:
  • DATES:
  • FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
  • SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
  • Rulemaking Requirements Enhanced Content - Table of Contents

• Related Documents Enhanced Content - Related Documents FederalRegister.gov uses the agency dockets published with the document to display related documents.

| Docket No. PTO-T-2017-0004
(5 Documents) | | | |
| --- | | | |
| Date | | Action | Title |
| | 2019-12-18 | Final rule; delay of effective date. | Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing |
| | 2019-12-13 | Final rule; correction. | Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing; Correction |
| | 2019-10-02 | Final rule, delay of effective date. | Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing |
| | 2019-07-31 | Final rule. | Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing |
| | 2018-05-30 | Notice of proposed rulemaking. | Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing |

Enhanced Content - Related Documents

• Public Comments Enhanced Content - Public Comments This feature is not available for this document.

Enhanced Content - Public Comments
- Regulations.gov Data Enhanced Content - Regulations.gov Data Additional information is not currently available for this document.

Enhanced Content - Regulations.gov Data

- Sharing Enhanced Content - Sharing Shorter Document URL https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-27426 Email Email this document to a friend Enhanced Content - Sharing

• Print Enhanced Content - Print
  • Print this document Enhanced Content - Print
• Document Statistics Enhanced Content - Document Statistics Document page views are updated periodically throughout the day and are cumulative counts for this document. Counts are subject to sampling, reprocessing and revision (up or down) throughout the day.

Page views 2,991
as of
03/22/2026 at 10:15 am EDT Enhanced Content - Document Statistics
- Other Formats Enhanced Content - Other Formats This document is also available in the following formats:

JSON Normalized attributes and metadata XML Original full text XML MODS Government Publishing Office metadata More information and documentation can be found in our developer tools pages.

Enhanced Content - Other Formats
- Public Inspection Public Inspection This PDF is FR Doc. 2019-27426 as it appeared on Public Inspection on
12/17/2019 at 8:45 am.

If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you
should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official
edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the
Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice
to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here.

Public Inspection
Published Document: 2019-27426 (84 FR 69330) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain
the following:

1. the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
2. the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
3. the agency docket number / agency internal file number
4. the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.

Department of Commerce

Patent and Trademark Office

1. 37 CFR Parts 2 and 7
2. [Docket No. PTO-T-2017-0004]
3. RIN 0651-AD15

AGENCY:

Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION:

Final rule; delay of effective date.

SUMMARY:

On July 31, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published in the Federal Register a final rule amending the regulations to mandate electronic filing of trademark applications and all submissions associated with trademark applications and registrations, and to require the designation of an email address for receiving USPTO correspondence, with limited exceptions. That final rule had an effective date of October 5, 2019, which was subsequently delayed until December 21, 2019. A correction to the July 31, 2019 rule was published on December 13, 2019 and is also effective on December 21, 2019. This action further delays the effective date of the both the July 31, 2019 final rule, and the December 13, 2019 correction, until February 15, 2020.

DATES:

The effective date of the final rule published on July 31, 2019 (84 FR 37081), delayed on October 2, 2019 (84 FR 52363), is further delayed from December 21, 2019 to February 15, 2020. The correction published on December 13, 2019 (84 FR 68045), is delayed from December 21, 2019 to February 15, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Catherine Cain, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, TMFRNotices@uspto.gov, (571) 272-8946.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On July 31, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published in the Federal Register (84 FR 37081, July 31, 2019) a final rule amending the regulations to mandate electronic filing of trademark applications and all submissions associated with trademark applications and registrations, and to require the designation of an email address for receiving USPTO correspondence, with limited exceptions. The effective date of the July 31, 2019 rule was delayed from October 5, 2019 until December 21, 2019 (84 FR 52363, October 2, 2019). A correction to the July 31, 2019 rule was published on December 13, 2019 (84 FR 68045) and is also effective on December 21, 2019.

In response to recent feedback received from external stakeholders regarding their need to more fully comprehend the nature of, and prepare to comply with, the new requirements before they become effective, the effective date of both the July 31, 2019 final rule and the December 13, 2019 correction is being delayed until February 15, 2020. This final rule will also allow the USPTO additional time to ensure that internal implementation of the requirements associated with the mandate that applicants and registrants electronically file their trademark applications and all submissions associated with trademark applications and registrations, and that they designate an email address for receiving USPTO correspondence, is in place. ( printed page 69331)

Rulemaking Requirements

Administrative Procedure Act: This final rule revises the effective date of the July 31, 2019 final rule implementing procedures requiring the electronic filing of trademark applications and all submissions associated with trademark applications and registrations, and the subsequent correction rule published on December 13, 2019, and it is a rule of agency practice and procedure, and/or interpretive rules pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). See JEM Broad. Co. v. F.C.C., 22 F.3d 32. (D.C. Cir. 1994) (“[T]he critical feature' of the procedural exception [in [5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/5/553) ]is that it covers agency actions that do not themselves alter the rights or interests of parties, although [they] may alter the manner in which the parties present themselves or their viewpoints to the agency.'” (quoting Batterton v. Marshall, 648 F.2d 694, 707 (D.C. Cir. 1980))); see also Bachow Commc'ns Inc. v. F.C.C., 237 F.3d 683, 690 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (rules governing an application process are procedural under the Administrative Procedure Act); Inova Alexandria Hosp. v. Shalala, 244 F.3d 342, 350 (4th Cir. 2001) (rules for handling appeals were procedural where they did not change the substantive standard for reviewing claims). Accordingly, prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or (c) (or any other law). See Cooper Techs. Co. v. Dudas, 536 F.3d 1330, 1336-37 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (stating that 5 U.S.C. 553, and thus 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)(B), does not require notice and comment rulemaking for “interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice” (quoting 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)).

Moreover, the Director of the USPTO, pursuant to authority at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), finds good cause to adopt the change in this final rule without prior notice and an opportunity for public comment, as such procedures would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Immediate implementation of the delay in effective date is in the public interest, because it is responsive to recent feedback received from external stakeholders regarding their need to more fully comprehend the nature of, and prepare to comply with, the new requirements before they are effective. It will also allow the USPTO additional time to ensure that internal implementation of the requirements associated with the July 31, 2019 final rule and the December 13, 2019 correction is in place. Delay of the July 31, 2019 final rule and the December 13, 2019 correction to provide prior notice and comment procedures is impracticable, because it would allow the July 31, 2019 final rule and December 13, 2019 correction to go into effect before external stakeholders are ready to comply with, and the agency is ready to implement, the new requirements. Therefore, the Director finds there is good cause to waive notice and comment procedures for this rule.

Finally, the change in this final rule may be made effective earlier than the required 30-day delay in effectiveness because this is not a substantive rule under 35 U.S.C. 553(d). Moreover, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Director finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness for this final rule because such a delay would allow the July 31, 2019 final rule and December 13, 2019 correction to go into effect before external stakeholders are ready to comply with, and the agency is ready to implement, the new requirements.

Dated: December 16, 2019.

Andrei Iancu,

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2019-27426 Filed 12-17-19; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-16-P

Published Document: 2019-27426 (84 FR 69330)