The USPTO's electronic filing system, comprises the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), available at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/apply, and Trademark Center, available at https://trademarkcenter.uspto.gov. Applicants and registrants must use the trademark electronic filing system to file all forms related to a domestic application or registration, or for filings under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol), except for initial applications filed under Trademark Act Section 66(a) (see TMEP §301.02(b)). The trademark electronic filing system provides situation-specific forms that require direct data entry in designated fields, and/or the attachment of a .jpg or .pdf image file.

To file documents using the trademark electronic filing system, the user must be logged into their USPTO.gov account with two-step authentication and have completed the one-time mandatory identity verification process. Because the user must complete identity verification in advance of a filing deadline, users should plan ahead to allow adequate time to complete the process. Failure to complete the identity verification process prior to a deadline will prevent use of the trademark electronic filing system and could result in the user having to file a petition to revive an abandoned application or a petition to the Director to accept a late filing, if appropriate. See 37 C.F.R. §§2.66, 2.146. Failure to timely file documents with a statutory deadline (e.g., a statement of use after five granted extensions or a Section 8 declaration of use or excusable nonuse) will result in abandonment of the application or cancellation of the registration. The Director has no authority to waive a statutory deadline, even on petition in an extraordinary situation. See 37 C.F.R. §2.148; TMEP §1708.

If the user is unable to complete the identify verification process prior to the filing deadline, they may file a petition to accept a paper submission following the procedures outlined in TMEP §1709.

For more information regarding the requirement to login to a USPTO.gov account, see https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/login.

For all submissions filed using the trademark electronic filing system, the USPTO generally receives the submission within seconds after it is filed. Upon successful submission, the trademark electronic filing system almost immediately displays a page that confirms receipt. See TMEP §303.02(a). This page is evidence that the submission was filed should any question arise as to the filing date of the document, and may be printed or copied-and-pasted into an electronic record for storage. Id. The trademark electronic filing system also separately sends an email acknowledgement of receipt that includes the same information. Filing electronically automatically creates an entry of receipt of this filing in the USPTO’s automated system.

See TMEP §303.01 regarding the filing date for electronic submissions.