611.01(c)    Signature of Documents Filed Electronically

In a document filed in connection with a trademark application, registration, or proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board through TEAS or ESTTA, the party filing the document does not apply a conventional signature.  Instead, the filer may do one of the following, depending on the document:

• (1) The signatory personally enters any combination of letters, numbers, spaces, and/or punctuation marks that the signer has adopted as a signature, placed between two forward slash ("/") symbols.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(c)(1).  Examples of acceptable signatures include /john doe/, /drl/, /s/, and /544-4925/.  The signatory’s first and last name and his or her title or position must be set forth immediately beneath or adjacent to the signature. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(d);
• (2) The document is filled out online and is printed.  The signatory personally signs the printed document in the traditional pen-and-ink manner. The signatory’s first and last name and his or her title or position must be set forth immediately beneath or adjacent to the signature. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(d). The signature portion, along with a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, if required, is scanned to create a .jpg or .pdf image file and attached to the document for electronic submission;
• (3) The document is filled out online and the pdf signature page generated within the USPTO’s form is sent to the signatory. The signatory signs the pdf signature page with an electronic signature generated using document-signing software that meets the requirements of TMEP §611.01(c)(ii). The signatory’s first and last name and his or her title or position must be set forth immediately beneath or adjacent to the signature. 37 C.F.R §2.193(d). The pdf signature page is then attached for electronic submission; or
• (4) The document is completed online, and emailed to the signatory for electronic signature from within TEAS. The signatory personally signs the document and it is automatically returned via TEAS to the party who requested the signature.

The USPTO will also accept a signature that meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (3) above on documents that are permitted to be filed on paper.  37 C.F.R. §2.193(a)(2).

All documents must be properly signed. 37 C.F.R. §§2.193(a), 11.18(a).  The person(s) identified as the signatory must personally sign the printed form or personally enter his or her electronic signature, either directly on the TEAS form or in the emailed form. 37 C.F.R. §2.193(a), (d).  Another person (e.g., paralegal, legal assistant, or secretary) may not sign or enter the name of a qualified U.S. attorney or other authorized signatory.   See In re Dermahose Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1793 (TTAB 2007) ; In re Cowan, 18 USPQ2d 1407 (Comm’r Pats. 1990). Just as signing the name of another person on paper does not serve as the signature of the person whose name is written, typing the electronic signature of another person is not a valid signature by that person. Similarly, another person may not use document-signing software to create or generate the electronic signature of the named signatory.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has held that an electronic signature on an electronic transmission through ESTTA pertains to all the attachments to the transmission.   PPG Indus., Inc. v. Guardian Indus. Corp., 73 USPQ2d 1926 (TTAB 2005) .  

See TBMP §106.02  regarding signature of documents filed in Board proceedings, and §106.03  regarding the form of submissions in Board proceedings.

611.01(c)(i)    Electronic Signatures Generated Using Document-signing Software

Trademark Rule 2.193(c), 37 C.F.R §2.193(c), sets forth the requirements for electronic signatures for trademark correspondence. Under Rule 2.193(c), a person signing a submission electronically must either:

• (1) Personally enter any combination of letters, numbers, spaces, and/or punctuation marks that he or she has adopted as a signature, placed between two forward slash ("/") symbols in the signature block on the electronic submission; or
• (2) Sign the document using some other form of electronic signature specified by the Director.

37 C.F.R. §2.193(c).

In accordance with the Director’s discretion to specify other forms of acceptable electronic signatures under Rule 2.193(c)(2), 37 C.F.R §2.193(c)(2), as of July 22, 2023, the USPTO began accepting documents with electronic signatures generated via third-party document-signing software, provided the signature meets the requirements set forth in TMEP §611.01(c)(ii). The Director has not specified any other form of acceptable electronic signature under Rule 2.193(c).

611.01(c)(ii)    Requirements for Electronic Signatures Generated Using Document-signing Software

When reviewing an electronic signature that was generated using document-signing software, USPTO staff must first determine compliance with other signature requirements, such as whether it was signed by a proper person under Trademark Rule 2.193(e), 37 C.F.R §2.193(e). See TMEP §611.02 for more information on signatures by proper parties.

Submissions must be personally signed by the individual identified in the signatory name field. See 37 C.F.R §2.193(a)(2), (d); TMEP §611.01(b). Another person may not use document-signing software to enter or electronically generate someone else's signature. See 37 C.F.R §2.193(a)(2); In re Dermahose Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1793 (TTAB 2007); In re Cowan, 18 USPQ2d 1407, 1409 (Comm’r Pats. 1990); TMEP §611.01(b).

An electronic signature generated using document-signing software must meet both the software and signature block requirements set forth below.

Document-signing software requirements. Parties using third-party document-signing software must ensure that the underlying software:

• (1) Preserves signature data for later inspection in the form of a digital certificate, token, or audit trail. Examining attorneys and post-registration examiners may presume that the document-signing software retains and integrates signature data in the final pdf that is uploaded unless the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy notifies the examining attorney otherwise.
• (2) Generates or otherwise provides the date on which the signature was applied. If the software does not include the date of signature, the signatory must enter it on the electronic form. If the software generates a date and a different date is separately entered on the electronic form, the date generated by the software controls.
• (3) Indicates that the signature page or electronic submission form was generated or electronically signed using document-signing software.
• (4) Is specifically designed to generate an electronic signature. Signatures created using other types of software, such as graphic editing software, are not acceptable.

Signature block requirements. Examining attorneys and post-registration examiners must ensure that the signature block comports with the requirements listed below:

• (1) Name and title. The first and last name, and the title or position, of each person who signed the document must be set forth immediately below or adjacent to the signatory’s adopted signature. If the signatory’s full name is not provided, the signatory’s first and last name must be stated for the record. This information can be entered through a Note to the File.
• (2) Date signed. The date that the document was signed must appear with the signature. As noted in the instructions within the electronic form and appearing on the generated pdf signature page, if the document-signing software provides a date and timestamp, separate manual entry of the signature date is not required. If the signature date is manually entered and disagrees with the software-generated timestamp date, the date generated by the software controls for purposes of determining the date of signature. Regardless of the date the form was signed, the filing date for the electronic submission remains the date and time the USPTO receives the submission, in Eastern Time.
• (3) USPTO timestamp. The pdf signature page generated within the USPTO’s form must display the timestamp applied by the USPTO’s electronic filing system that indicates when the signature page was created within the electronic form (i.e., prior to signature).

  Because the timestamp will only appear in the pdf signature page generated by the USPTO electronic filing system, the USPTO-generated pdf signature page must be used to meet the requirements for an acceptable electronic signature. A USPTO-generated pdf signature page is currently only available for verification signatures. See TMEP §611.02 regarding verification signatures.

  
• (4) Acceptable software type. The software used by the signer must meet the software requirements listed above.

See 37 C.F.R §2.193(a), (c), (d); TMEP §§303.01, 611.01(b), 804.03.

If the submission is signed by a proper party and all the elements listed above are satisfied, the examining attorney may presume the signature meets the requirements for an acceptable electronic signature, unless directed otherwise by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy. If one or more of these requirements are not met, the signature will be treated as an unacceptable electronic signature. 37 C.F.R §2.193(c).

Notwithstanding the provisions above, examining attorneys and post-registration examiners retain the discretion to inquire regarding the acceptability of a signature on an electronic trademark submission or to require evidence of authenticity of such signature.

The requirements regarding submissions signed using document-signing software apply only to documents that must be signed in accordance with Rule 2.193(e). 37 C.F.R §2.193(e). These requirements do not apply to agreements with third parties submitted to the USPTO as part of the record during prosecution of an application, such as an agreement between the applicant and the owner of a cited mark consenting to registration of the applicant’s mark or a consent to register the name of an individual under Section 2(c). 15 U.S.C §1052(c)-(d).

Electronic signatures generated using document-signing software submitted before July 22, 2023. Because the USPTO timestamp and USPTO-generated pdf signature page was not available before July 22, 2023, USPTO staff may accept a declaration or verification that contains an electronic signature generated using document-signing software that was submitted before July 22, 2023 that otherwise meets the requirements set forth above. Any electronic signature generated using document-signing software submitted on or after July 22, 2023 must comply with all of the requirements set forth above, including use of the USPTO-generated pdf signature form with the relevant USPTO timestamp.

Electronic signatures generated using document-signing software currently only acceptable for verification signatures. The pdf signature page generated in the USPTO’s forms containing the USPTO timestamp is currently only available for declarations or verifications. Accordingly, only verification signatures, and not submission signatures, can meet the requirements of an acceptable electronic signature generated using document-signing software as set forth immediately above. See TMEP §611.01 for the types of signatures required for filing documents with the USPTO.