T.M.E.P. § 602.03
Papers Filed by Unauthorized Persons
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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602.03 Papers Filed by Unauthorized Persons
Under 37 C.F.R. 10.18(a), every document filed by a practitioner qualified under 37 C.F.R. 10.14 to practice before the USPTO in trademark cases (except for papers required to be signed by the applicant, registrant or party to a proceeding) must be personally signed by the practitioner. The signature constitutes a certificate that the document's filing is authorized. 37 C.F.R. 10.18(b)(1). Therefore, the USPTO presumes that papers signed by practitioners are authorized to be filed and will enter such papers in the record.
An individual who is not qualified under 37 C.F.R. 10.14(a), (b), or (c) to practice before the USPTO in trademark cases is not permitted to represent a party in the prosecution of a trademark application, maintenance of a registration, or in a proceeding before the USPTO. 5 U.S.C. §500(d); 37 C.F.R. 10.14(e). If the examining attorney suspects that an individual who does not meet the requirements of 37 C.F.R. 10.14 is representing an applicant, the examining attorney should bring the matter to the attention of the Administrator for Trademark Policy and Procedure in the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, who will coordinate appropriate action with the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.
If it appears that a response to an Office action was signed by an improper party, the examining attorney should treat the response as an incomplete response, and should grant the applicant additional time to perfect the response, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 2.65(b) and TMEP §718.03(b). The applicant must submit a response signed by someone with legal authority to bind the applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner of a partnership), or by an attorney who is qualified to practice under 37 C.F.R. 10.14. Where a response was signed by an unauthorized party, it is not acceptable for the applicant to ratify the response through an examiner's amendment. See TMEP §712.03.