USPTO IMPLEMENTS NEW RULE REQUIRING FOREIGN TRADEMARK APPLICANTS AND REGISTRANTS TO HAVE U.S. ATTORNEY

On July 2, 2019, the U.S. Trademark Office published a new rule requiring U.S. attorney representation for foreign-domiciled trademark owners. The new rule will take effect on August 3rd. It applies to all trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings whose permanent legal residence or principal place of business is outside of the United States.

The purpose of the rule is to safeguard the U.S. trademark register from an increasing number of inaccurate and possibly fraudulent submissions by foreign-domiciled trademark owners. The Trademark Office hopes that the new requirements for U.S. counsel will reduce the number of improper filings since U.S. attorneys are more likely to be familiar with U.S. trademark law and USPTO regulations.

The Sladkus Law Group is happy to assist you with this change by taking over representation of any affected applications, registrations, or proceedings. Please contact us if you have any questions, or if you would like to learn more about these new regulations.