USPTO Issues Revised Guidelines Regarding Trademark Rule Changes—Owner E-mail Requirement Changed

On February 15, 2020, a rule change went into effect requiring trademark Applicants and Registrants to list a working email address at the USPTO.

As originally written, the rule stated that the email address must be owned and regularly monitored by the Applicant or Registrant.

Many people expressed concerns with respect to the proposed requirement.

As a result, the USPTO has changed its position and has provided revised guidelines with respect to what types of email addresses are acceptable.

Attorneys can now provide a firm email address created specifically for this purpose and the owner e-mail will not need to be listed on the public USPTO database.

https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/TM-ExamGuide-MEF-1-20.pdf