TTABlog Flotsam and Jetsam No. 13

It's time for another edition of "Flotsam and Jetsam," wherein I provide timely tidbits for the TTABar.


Acting Chief Judge: Judge Gerard F. Rogers will serve as Acting Chief Judge of the TTAB, pending the appointment of a new Chief. Judge Rogers was appointed to the TTAB in 1999. He has served at the PTO as a Trademark Examining Attorney (1987-90); Assistant to the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks (1990-92); and TTAB Staff Attorney (1992-99). [The current roster of TTAB judges may be found here.]


New TMEP edition: By notice in the October 23, 2009 Federal Register, the PTO announced that the sixth edition of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure is now available (here). "The sixth edition incorporates USPTO trademark practice and relevant case law reported prior to September 1, 2009."

New PTO Rules: Effective December 28, 2009, new rules will govern the requirements for signature of documents,for recognition of representatives, and for establishing and changing the correspondence address in trademark cases. Federal Register notice here.

Bose Brown-Bag in Boston: The Boston Patent Law Association and the Boston Bar Association will co-host a brown-bag luncheon at noon on November 19, 2009 at the Bar Association headquarters. The topic: "Trademark Fraud on the USPTO: A New Landscape." Yours truly will moderate a panel consisting of Mark Robins of Nixon, Peabody, and Amy Brosius of Fish & Richardson. Details here.


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