[E-trademarks] Lots o' declarations

[Pamela Chestek]

We've had two oddities with declarations on USPTO forms in the past two 
days. Yesterday we had to sign a declaration for a request for an 
extension of time to respond to an office action. There is nothing to 
swear to in the form; the extension is a matter of right (upon payment 
of a fee) and no reason for the extension needs to be given. There was 
no checkmark to opt out of it and the declaration language didn't 
clarify anything. (We also got an error that the address box had been 
checked but there was no street address given - it was in the original 
application form and not populated (I believe correctly) in the 
extension request, and there is no reason it should have to be added 
again on an extension request. We didn't want to uncheck the box to 
remove the error because that might write the mailing address over the 
street address, which would only provoke another office action. Sigh. It 
was, though, only a yellow error, not a red error.)

Today, we received acknowledement of receipt of an Allegation of Use and 
copy and pasted at the top of the email was this: "The signatory has 
confirmed that he/she is a U.S.-licensed attorney who is an active 
member in good standing of the bar ... ; and he/she is currently the 
owner's/holder's attorney or an associate thereof; and to the best of 
his/her knowledge, if prior to his/her appointment another U.S.-licensed 
attorney not currently associated with his/her company/firm previously 
represented the owner/holder in this matter: ..." Interestingly, the 
attorney submission statement (the four checkboxes) are on the online 
form when you sign it, but they're not on the receipt, until now.

Is anyone else seeing this?

I can't help but wonder if this is related to the inability to save 
forms a week or so ago. Perhaps someone figured out a loophole in the 
forms that allowed them to avoid making the attorney submission 
declaration? And now it's being hacked  into the receipt so they can't 
claim they didn't make it?

Pam

Pamela S. Chestek
Chestek Legal
300 Fayetteville Street
Unit 2492
Raleigh, NC 27602
pamela at chesteklegal.com
(919) 800-8033
www.chesteklegal.com