T.M.E.P. § 712.03
Response Signed by an Unauthorized Person

Executive summary:

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712.03 Response Signed by an Unauthorized Person

A response to an Office action must be signed by the applicant or by an attorney who is qualified to practice before the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. 10.14. 37 C.F.R. 10.18; TMEP §712. When it appears that a response to an Office action was signed by an improper party (e.g., a foreign attorney who is not licensed to practice before the USPTO, or a corporate employee who does not have legal authority to bind the applicant), the examining attorney should treat the response as an incomplete response. The examining attorney should issue an Office action granting the applicant additional time to perfect the response, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 2.65(b) (see TMEP §718.03(b)) , and send the Office action directly to the applicant. The applicant must submit a response signed by someone with legal authority to bind the applicant (see TMEP §712.01) , or by an attorney who is qualified to practice before the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. 10.14 (see TMEP §602). This should be done by fax (unless it is excluded by 37 C.F.R. 2.195(c)) or through TEAS (using the response to Office action form), if possible. See TMEP §804.05 regarding signature of documents submitted through TEAS. 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. The examining attorney should defer action on the merits of the response until the applicant files a properly signed response.

If the applicant fails to submit a properly signed response within the time granted under 37 C.F.R. 2.65(b), the examining attorney should hold the application abandoned for failure to file a complete response. See TMEP §718.03(a). In this situation, the applicant cannot file a petition to revive under 37 C.F.R. 2.66. The applicant's recourse is to file a petition to reverse the examining attorney's holding of abandonment under 37 C.F.R. 2.146. See TMEP §1713.