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SPECIAL MAIL STOPS FOR PATENT
MAIL
For most correspondence (e.g., new patent applications)
no mail stop is required because the processing of the correspondence
is routine. If NO mail stop is included on the list below, no
mail stop is required for the correspondence. See the listing
under “Special Mail Stops Applicable To Both Patent And Trademark
Mail” for additional mail stops for patent-related correspondence.
Only the specified type of document should be placed in an envelope addressed
to one of these special mail stops. If any documents other than the specified
type identified for each special mail stop are addressed to that mail
stop, they will be significantly delayed in reaching the appropriate area
for which they are intended. The mail stop should generally appear as
the first line in the address.
Petitions for a foreign filing license may be faxed to: 703-305-7658.
Some correspondence may be submitted electronically. See the Office’s
Internet Web site http://www.uspto.gov for additional information.
Please address mail to be delivered by the United States
Postal Service (USPS) as follows:
Mail Stop ____
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
If no Mail Stop is indicated below, the line beginning
Mail Stop should be omitted from the address.
Except correspondence for Maintenance Fee payments, Deposit Account
Replenishments (see 1.25(c)(4)), and Licensing and Review (see 37 CFR
5.1(c) and 5.2(c)), please address correspondence to be delivered by other
delivery services (Federal Express (Fed Ex), UPS, DHL, Laser, Action,
Purolater, etc.) as follows:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
220 20th Street South
Customer Window, Mail Stop ___
Crystal Plaza Two, Lobby, Room 1B03
Arlington, VA 22202
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Mail Stop Designations |
Explanation |
Mail
Stop 12
|
Contributions
to the Examiner Education Program. |
| Mail
Stop 313(c) |
Petitions
under 37 CFR 1.313(c) to withdraw a patent application from issue
after payment of the issue fee and any papers associated with the
petition, including papers necessary for a continuing application
or a request for continued examination (RCE). |
| Mail
Stop AF |
Amendments
and other responses after final rejection, other than an appeal
brief. |
| Mail Stop
Amendment |
Information
disclosure statements, drawings, and replies to Office actions in
patent applications with or without an amendment to the application
or a terminal disclaimer. (Use Mail Stop AF for replies after final
rejection.). |
| Mail
Stop Appeal Brief- Patents |
For
appeal briefs or other briefs under part 41 of title 37 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (e.g., former 37 CFR 1.192). |
| Mail
Stop Comments- Patents |
Public
comments regarding patent related regulations and procedures. |
| Mail
Stop Conversion |
Requests
under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(2) to convert a nonprovisional application
to a provisional application and requests under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(3)
to convert a provisional application to a nonprovisional application. |
| Mail
Stop DD |
Disclosure
Documents or materials related to the Disclosure Document Program.
(A disclosure document is NOT an information disclosure statement.)
Instead of filing a disclosure document, inventors are encouraged
to file a provisional patent application. |
| Mail
Stop EBC |
Mail
for the Electronic Business Center including: Certificate Action
Forms, Request for Customer Numbers, and Requests for Customer Number
Data Change (USPTO Forms PTO-2042, PTO/SB/124A and 125A, respectively)
and Customer Number Upload Spreadsheets and Cover Letters. |
| Mail
Stop Expedited Design |
Only
to be used for the initial filing of design applications accompanied
by a request for expedited examination under 37 CFR 1.155. (Design
applicants seeking expedited examination may alternatively file
a design application and corresponding request under 37 CFR 1.155
by hand-delivering the application papers and request directly to
the Design Group Director's office.) |
| Mail Stop
Express Abandonment |
Requests
for abandonment of a patent application pursuant to 37 CFR 1.138,
including any petitions under 37 CFR 1.138(c) to expressly abandon
an application to avoid publication of the application. (This new
mail stop should be used instead of Mail Stop PGPUB- ABD. Applicants
are encouraged to transmit the requests by facsimile to (703) 305-8568.) |
| Mail Stop
ILS |
Correspondence
relating to international patent classification, exchanges and standards. |
| Mail
Stop Issue Fee |
All communications following the receipt of a PTOL-85, “Notice
of Allowance and Fee(s) Due,” and prior to the issuance
of a patent should be addressed to Mail Stop Issue Fee, unless
advised to the contrary.
Assignments are the exception. Assignments (with cover sheets)
should be faxed to 703-306-5995, electronically submitted, or
submitted in a separate envelope and be sent to Mail Stop Assignment
Recordation Services, Director - U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
as shown below.
|
| Mail
Stop L&R |
All documents pertaining to applications subject
secrecy order pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 181, or are national-security
classified and required to be processed accordingly.
Such papers may also be hand carried to:
Technology Center 3600, Office of the Director
2451 Crystal Drive, Room 3D07
Arlington, VA 22202 |
| Mail
Stop Missing Parts |
Requests for a corrected filing receipt and replies to OIPE notices
such as the Notice of Omitted Items, Notice to File Corrected Application
Papers, Notice of Incomplete Application, Notice to Comply with
Nucleotide Sequence Requirements, and Notice to File Missing Parts
of Application, and associated papers and fees. |
| Mail
Stop MPEP |
Submissions
concerning the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. |
| Mail
Stop Patent Ext. |
Applications
for patent term extension and any communications relating thereto. |
| Mail
Stop PCT |
Mail
related to international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty in the international phase and in the national phase under
35 U.S.C. 371 prior to mailing of a Notification of Acceptance of
Application Under 35 U.S.C. 371 and 37 CFR 1.495 (Form PCT/DO/EO/903). |
| Mail
Stop Petition |
Petitions
to be decided by the Office of Petitions including petitions to
revive and petitions to accept late payment of issue fees or maintenance
fees. |
| Mail
Stop PGPUB |
Correspondence
regarding publication of patent applications not otherwise provided,
including requests for early publication made after filing, rescission
of non-publication request, corrected patent application publication,
refund of publication fee. |
| Mail
Stop Post Issue |
In
patented files: requests for changes of correspondence address,
powers of attorney, revocations of powers of attorney, withdrawal
of attorney and submissions under 37 CFR 1.501.
Designation of, or changes to, a fee address should be addressed
to Mail Stop M Correspondence.
Requests for Certificate of Correction need no special mail stop,
but should be made to the attention of Certificate of Correction
Branch. |
| Mail
Stop RCE |
Requests
for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114. |
| Mail
Stop Reconstruction |
Correspondence
pertaining to the reconstruction of lost patent files. |
| Mail
Stop Ex Parte Reexam |
Requests
for Reexamination for original request papers only. |
| Mail
Stop Inter Partes Reexam |
Requests
for Inter Partes Reexamination for original request
papers and for all subsequent correspondence other
than correspondence to the Office of the Solicitor (see 37 CFR §§
1.1(a)(3) and 1.302(c)). |
| Mail
Stop Reissue |
All
new and continuing reissue application filings. |
| Mail
Stop Sequence |
Submission of the computer readable form (CRF) for applications
with sequence listings, when the CRF is not being filed with the
patent application. |
ADDRESS FOR TRADEMARK MAIL
Please
address trademark-related mail to be delivered by the United States Postal
Service (USPS), except documents sent to the Assignment Services Division
for recordation, requests for copies of trademark documents, and documents
directed to the Madrid Processing Unit, as follows:
Commissioner for Trademarks
PO Box 1451
Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
Mail to be delivered by the USPS to the Office's Madrid Processing Unit,
must be mailed to:
Commissioner for Trademarks
PO Box 16471
Arlington, VA 22215-1471
Attention MPU
Trademark-related mail to be delivered by courier or by hand to the
Trademark Operation, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or the Office’s
Madrid Processing Unit, must be delivered to:
Trademark Assistance Center
Madison East, Concourse Level Room C 55
600 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
SPECIAL MAIL STOPS APPLICABLE TO
BOTH PATENT AND TRADEMARK MAIL
Please address mail to be directed to a mail stop identified
below to be delivered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as follows
(unless otherwise instructed):
Mail
Stop _____
Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office
PO Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
|
Mail
Stop Designations |
Explanation |
| Mail
Stop 3 |
Mail
for the Office of Personnel from NFC |
| Mail
Stop 6 |
Mail
for the Office of Procurement. |
| Mail
Stop 8 |
All
papers for the Office of the Solicitor except communications relating
to pending litigation and disciplinary proceedings; papers relating
to pending litigation in court cases shall be mailed only to Office
of the Solicitor, PO Box 15667, Arlington, VA 22215 and papers
related to pending disciplinary proceedings before the Administrative
Law Judge or the Director shall be mailed only to the Office of
the Solicitor, PO Box 16116, Arlington, VA 22215. |
| Mail
Stop 11 |
Mail for the Electronic Ordering Service (EOS). |
| Mail
Stop 13 |
Mail
for the Employee and Labor Relations Division. |
| Mail
Stop 16 |
Mail
related to refund requests, other than requests for refund of
a patent application publication fee. Such requests should be
directed to Mail Stop PGPub. |
| Mail
Stop 17 |
Invoices
directed to the Office of Finance. |
| Mail
Stop 24 |
Mail
for the Inventor's Assistance Program, including complaints about
Invention Promoters. |
| Mail
Stop 171 |
Vacancy
Announcement Applications. |
| Mail
Stop Assignment Recordation Services |
All
assignment documents, security interests, and other documents
to be recorded in the Assignment records. Note that documents
with cover sheets faxed to 703-306-5995 are processed much more
quickly than those submitted by mail. |
| Mail
Stop Congressional Relations |
Mail
for the Office of Congressional Relations. |
| Mail
Stop Document Services |
All
requests for certified or uncertified copies of patent or trademark
documents. |
| Mail
Stop EEO |
Mail
for the Office of Civil Rights. |
| Mail
Stop Enforcement |
Mail
for the Office of Enforcement. |
| Mail
Stop Interference |
Communications
relating to interferences and applications and patents involved
in interference. |
| Mail
Stop International Relations |
Mail
for the Office of International Relations. |
| Mail
Stop M Correspondence |
Mail
to designate or change a fee address, or other correspondence
related to maintenance fees, except payments of maintenance fees
in patents. See below for the address for maintenance fee payments. |
| Mail
Stop OED |
Mail
for the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.
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Maintenance
Fee Payments
Unless submitted electronically over the Internet at www.uspto.gov,
payments of maintenance fees in patents should be mailed through the United
States Postal Service to:
United States Patent and Trademark Office
PO Box 371611
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611
Alternatively, payment of maintenance fees in patents (Attn:
Maintenance Fee) using hand-delivery and delivery by private courier may
be made to:
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Attn: __________
One Crystal Park
2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 307
Arlington, Virginia 22202
Deposit
Account Replenishments
To send payment to replenish deposit accounts, send the
payments through the United States Postal Service to:
Director
of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
PO Box 70541
Chicago, IL 60673
Alternatively, deposit account replenishments (Attn: Deposit
Accounts) using hand-delivery and delivery by private courier may be delivered
to:
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Attn: __________
One Crystal Park
2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 307
Arlington, Virginia 22202.
Questions
regarding the information provided on this page should be directed to:
Darnell Jayne, Legal Advisor in the Office of Patent Legal Administration,
by telephone at (571) 272-7701 or by e-mail addressed to PatentPractice@uspto.gov.
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