USPTO Personnel May Not Express Opinion on Validity of Registered Trademark

A certificate of registration of a mark on the Principal

Register is prima facie evidence of the validity of the registration.

15 U.S.C.

§1057(b)

. Public policy demands that every employee of the United

States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refuse to express to any person any opinion as

to the validity of any registered mark, except to the extent necessary to carry out inter

partes proceedings at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Board) in cancellation and

similar proceedings authorized by law.

Members of the Trademark Examining Operation are cautioned to

be especially wary of inquiries from persons outside the USPTO, including employees of

another government agency, the answer to which might indicate that a particular

registration should not have been published or issued.

An employee of the USPTO, particularly a trademark examining

attorney who examined an application, should not discuss or answer inquiries from any

person outside the USPTO as to whether a certain registration or particular evidence was

considered during the examination of the application, or whether a mark would have been

published or registered if the registration or other evidence had been considered during

the examination.  Likewise, employees should not answer any inquiry concerning any entry in

a registration file, including the extent of the field of search.  The record of the file

of a registration or inter partes proceeding before the Board must speak for itself.

Employees must not discuss these matters with members of the

public. Qualified U.S. attorneys should not make improper inquiries of members of the

Trademark Examining Operation.

See

TMEP

§1806

regarding contacts with third parties about ex parte

matters.