Trademark seekers shift away from paper, PTO says

The Patent and Trademark Office announced today that it began receiving more trademark applications online than on paper in September. The trend appeared to continue into October. Trademark officials in 1998 launched their first online application filing system after working on it in-house since 1992, trademark commissioner Anne Chasser said. “It has taken us 10 years to become an overnight success,” she said.To further reduce paper shuffling, PTO announced today that it has implemented an electronic bulk-mailing system in cooperation with the Postal Service. The Trademark Postal System, or TPostal, uses USPS’ NetPost Mailing Online service to electronically transmit data for mailing on postcards to trademark applicants. PTO said it is the first federal agency to take advantage of the electronic service.Chasser said 85 percent of trademark applicants deal with PTO through attorneys, and the remaining 15 percent represent themselves. She said PTO wants to make a transition to more electronic services under a long-term IT modernization plan [see story at www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/storage/19799-1.html].Trademark applicants use the Trademark Electronic Application System to file online. In September, 52 percent used TEAS. PTO processes about 25,000 trademark applications per month, Chasser said. Applicants also can search a vast trademark database called the Trademark Electronic Search System online, and they can check the status of their applications online through the Trademark Application Registration and Retrieval System.