T.M.E.P. § 1705.07
Signature of Petition

Executive summary:

This document contains one section of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (the "TMEP"), Fourth Edition (April 2005). This page was last updated in June 2007. You may return to one either the section index, or to the key word index. If you wish to search the TMEP, simply use the search box that appears on the bottom of every page of BitLaw--be sure to restrict your search to the TMEP in the pop-up list.

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1705.07 Signature of Petition

A petition should be signed by the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney.

If the petitioner has an attorney, the attorney must sign the response. 37 C.F.R. 10.18(a). If the petitioner is not represented by an attorney, the response must be signed by someone with legal authority to bind the petitioner (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership). A non-attorney who is authorized to verify facts under 37 C.F.R. 2.33(a)(2) or §2.161(b) is not entitled to sign petitions, unless he or she has legal authority to bind the petitioner. Under 5 U.S.C. §500(d) and 37 C.F.R. 10.14(e), non-attorneys may not represent a party in a trademark proceeding before the USPTO.

See TMEP §§712.01(a) et seq. for guidelines on persons who have legal authority to bind various types of petitioners.

See TMEP §804.05 regarding signature of documents filed electronically.