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Almost all trademark applications at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be filed online as of October this year, the office has announced.
In an announcement yesterday, July 31, the USPTO said the change was part of its efforts to be as paperless as possible.
“Paper submissions hinder efficiency and accuracy and are more costly than electronic submissions,” the announcement said.
It is the latest move in the office’s efforts to curb paper filings after previously making e-filings cheaper than paper applications.
The USPTO said that by using its online filing system, the Trademark Electronic Application System, trademark applications will be processed faster due to increased administrative efficiency, data-entry errors will decrease, and the risk of lost or missing papers will be eliminated.
The office has already seen a decrease in paper applications, with only 144 of 468,000 trademark applications filed on paper in 2018.
It said that bar limited exceptions, paper and fax submission will no longer be accepted as of October 5.
US Patent and Trademark Office, trademarks, electronic filing, paper applications, trademark applications
