T.M.E.P. § 202
Requirements for Receiving a Filing Date

Executive summary:

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202 Requirements for Receiving a Filing Date

Under 37 C.F.R. 2.21(a), the USPTO will grant a filing date to an application under §1 or §44 of the Trademark Act that contains all of the following:

(1) the name of the applicant;

(2) a name and address for correspondence;

(3) a clear drawing of the mark;

(4) a listing of the goods or services; and

(5) the filing fee for at least one class of goods or services.

If the application does not satisfy all the above requirements, it will not be given a filing date. The USPTO will notify the applicant of the reason(s) why the application was not given a filing date, and refund the application filing fee.

Applications that do not meet the minimum requirements for receipt of a filing date are referred to as "informal." See TMEP §203 regarding review for compliance with minimum filing requirements, and TMEP §§204 et seq. for information about how the USPTO handles informal applications.

In an application under §66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1141f(a), compliance with the minimum filing requirements of §66(a) of the Act will be determined by the IB prior to sending the request for extension of protection of an international registration to the United States to the USPTO. See TMEP §§1904 et seq. for further information about §66(a) applications.