Beginning August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark
applicants and registrants will be required to retain licensed
counsel in the United States to prosecute trademark applications,
file post-registration maintenance documents, file submissions in
Madrid applications, or respond to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
("TTAB") proceedings.
A "foreign-domiciled" trademark applicant or
registrant is:
- (1) an individual with a permanent
legal residence outside the United States or its territories,
or
- (2) an entity with its principal
place of business (e.g. headquarters) outside the United States or
its territories.
These rule changes are in response to an increase in foreign
applicants and registrants representing themselves pro se in
trademark proceedings without sufficient familiarity with U.S.
rules and laws, such as requirements associated with use in
commerce and specimens. The new rules are designed to ensure that
trademark registrations are issued
