Date of Receipt Stamp

37 CFR 1.6  Receipt of correspondence.

(a)

Date of receipt and Priority Mail Express

®

date of deposit.

Correspondence received in the Patent and Trademark

Office is stamped with the date of receipt except as follows:

(1) The Patent and Trademark Office is not open for the filing

of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday

within the District of Columbia. Except for correspondence transmitted by

facsimile under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, or filed electronically

under paragraph (a)(4) of this section, no correspondence is received in the

Office on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of

Columbia.

(2) Correspondence filed in accordance with

§ 1.10

will be stamped with the date of deposit as Priority Mail

Express

®

with the United States Postal

Service.

(3) Correspondence transmitted by facsimile to the Patent and

Trademark Office will be stamped with the date on which the complete

transmission is received in the Patent and Trademark Office unless that date

is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia,

in which case the date stamped will be the next succeeding day which is not

a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.

(4) Correspondence may be submitted using the USPTO patent

electronic filing system only in accordance with the USPTO patent electronic

filing system requirements. Correspondence officially submitted to the

Office by way of the USPTO patent electronic filing system will be accorded

a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the correspondence is

received in the Office, regardless of whether that date is a Saturday,

Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia

in accordance with the USPTO patent electronic

filing system requirements. Correspondence officially submitted to the

Office by way of the USPTO patent electronic filing system will be accorded

a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the correspondence is

received in the Office, regardless of whether that date is a Saturday,

Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.

*****

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) stamps papers and

fees received through the mail (other than those submitted by Priority Mail

Express

®

in accordance with

37 CFR 1.10

), by

facsimile, or via the USPTO patent electronic filing system with the date of their receipt

in the Office. Papers that are hand-carried to the Office will be date stamped at the

Customer Service Window. See

MPEP § 502

. The stamp is referred to as the “Office Date”

stamp.

When the last day for taking any action or paying any fee in the Office

falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, the

action or the fee is considered timely if the action is taken or the fee is paid on the

next succeeding business day.

New patent applications filed in accordance with

37 CFR 1.10

will be

stamped by the Office with the date of deposit as Priority Mail

Express

®

with the United States Postal Service. For example,

if a new patent application is deposited in Priority Mail

Express

®

in accordance with

37 CFR 1.10

on a

Saturday and the United States Postal Service gives it a date of deposit of Saturday, the

Office will accord and stamp the correspondence with the Saturday date.

37 CFR 1.6(a)(2)

.

Similarly, correspondence submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing

system will be accorded a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the

correspondence is received in the Office without regard to whether that date is a Saturday,

Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See

MPEP §§ 502.05

and

512

the correspondence with the Saturday date.

37 CFR 1.6(a)(2)

.

Similarly, correspondence submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing

system will be accorded a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the

correspondence is received in the Office without regard to whether that date is a Saturday,

Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See

MPEP §§ 502.05

and

512

.

If an application as originally filed includes the necessary components for

a filing date (see

37 CFR

1.53(b)-(d)

and

MPEP § 506

), the “Office Date” stamp

establishes the “filing date.”

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