As of August 3, 2019, all US trademark applicants are required to provide their US domicile address on the application. Foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Appeal Board proceedings, including Canadian trademark filers, must appoint and be represented before the USPTO by an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the United States. A “foreign-domiciled” trademark applicant is one who does not have a domicile/headquarters in the United States or its territories.
US attorneys will be required to provide their bar license number on all applications to verify their ability to practice before the USPTO in trademark matters.
The USPTO states that an increasing number of foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, and parties have been filing inaccurate and possibly fraudulent submissions with the USPTO that do not comply with U.S. trademark law or the USPTO’s rules. Many appear to be doing so on the advice or with the assistance of foreign individuals and entities who are not authorized to represent trademark applicants, registrants, or parties before the USPTO (i.e., they are engaging in the unauthorized practice of law). In order to help ensure that foreign-domiciled applicants, registrants, and parties receive registrations that comply with U.S. legal requirements, we are ensuring that they will have the advice of an attorney licensed to practice law in the U.S.
Click here for more information from the USPTO.
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