MPEP Section 203.08(a), Congressional and Other Official Inquiries
Executive summary:
This document contains Section 203.08(a) ("Congressional and Other Official Inquiries ") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.
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203.08(a) Congressional and Other Official Inquiries [R-3]
Correspondence and inquiries from the White House, Members of Congress, embassies, and heads of Executive departments and agencies normally are cleared through the Office of International Relations and/or the Office of Congressional Relations.
When persons from the designated official sources request services from the Office, or information regarding the business of the Office, they should, under long-standing instructions, be referred, at least initially, to a staff member in the appropriate office.
This procedure is used so that there will be uniformity in the handling of contacts from the indicated sources, and also so that compliance with directives of the Department of Commerce is attained.
Inquiries referred to in this section such as correspondence from embassies, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Department of State should immediately be transmitted to the Director of the Office of International Relations by messenger, and a staff member of that office should be notified by phone that such correspondence has been received. Inquiries referred to in this section, such as correspondence from Congress or the White House, should immediately be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Congressional Relations by messenger, and * a staff member of that office should be notified by phone that such correspondence has been received.