T.M.E.P. § 709.03
Making Substance of Interview of Record

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.

For more information on trademark law, please see the Trademark Section of BitLaw.

Previous Section (§709.02) | Next Section (§709.04)

709.03 Making Substance of Interview of Record

The substance of an interview must always be made of record in the application, since the action of the USPTO is based exclusively on the written record. 37 C.F.R. 2.191. This should be done promptly after the interview while the matters discussed are fresh in the minds of the parties.

To ensure that any agreements reached at an interview will be followed, and to avoid subsequent misunderstanding, the examining attorney should include, in the "Notes-to-the-File" section of the record, a summary of the conclusions reached and the significance of any exhibits considered at an interview.

If possible, agreements reached in the interview may be incorporated in an examiner's amendment or priority action.

The applicant or the applicant's attorney may also make the substance of an interview part of the record by incorporating a summary of the interview in the applicant's response to the Office action. If there is any disagreement between the examining attorney and the applicant as to the substance of the interview, the written record governs. 37 C.F.R. 2.191.