USPTO Issues Revised Version of TMEP | Practical Law

USPTO Issues Revised Version of TMEP | Practical Law

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a revised version of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) on April 30, 2016.

USPTO Issues Revised Version of TMEP

Practical Law Legal Update w-002-2030 (Approx. 2 pages)

USPTO Issues Revised Version of TMEP

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 02 May 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a revised version of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) on April 30, 2016.
On April 30, 2016, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it issued the April 2016 version of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP). The TMEP provides guidance on the law, practices, and procedures concerning trademark application prosecution to register marks with the USPTO. The TMEP contains guidelines for Examining Attorneys and outlines the procedures they are required or authorized to follow when examining trademark applications.
The April 2016 TMEP:
  • Includes precedential decisions issued since the October 2015 TMEP revision.
  • Clarifies or memorializes existing procedures in certain areas.
  • Includes an enhancement linking TMEP citations to the Code of Federal Regulations and Trademark Act to an electronic version of the Trademark Federal Statutes and Rules.
A full listing of the changes can be found in the TMEP's Index to Changes in TMEP April 2016. Highlights of the changes can be found here.