重磅：USPTO新增商标行政制裁程序！
6240As part of our continuing efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. trademark register, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has established an administrative process to investigate improper trademark-related submissions. Under this process, when a submission appears to violate the Trademark Rules of Practice or the USPTO website’s Terms of Use, the USPTO will issue administrative orders that may result in sanctions being imposed. Sanctions may include:
•Striking submissions
•Precluding parties from appearing before the USPTO
•Terminating USPTO.gov accounts
•Terminating proceedings
美国专利商标局（USPTO）始终致力于保护美国商标注册的完整性，日前出台新的行政程序以调查可能违反USPTO规则的不当商标申请。根据该行政程序，若某个商标申请看似或可能违反USPTO商标实务规则或 USPTO 网站使用条款，美国专利商标局将发出行政制裁令。制裁可能包括：
• 取消商标申请；
• 禁止当事人在美国专利商标局出庭；
• 终止USPTO.gov帐户；
• 终止相关程序。
To promote transparency regarding the sanctions process for applicants or registrants who may be impacted by sanctions, as well as third parties who may be concerned about a particular application or registration, the USPTO will place documents associated with the process, including administrative orders to show cause and orders for sanctions regarding particular applications or registrations, in the electronic file record, which can be viewed by the public in the USPTO Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) database. Further, examination may be suspended while the application is subject to a pending administrative investigation or order, and, if so, the TSDR record will reflect that as well.
为提高制裁程序的透明度，尤其是对那些可能受到制裁影响的申请人或注册人，以及可能与某个特定商标申请/注册有密切关联的第三方，USPTO会将该程序的相关文件存至电子档案库，包括针对某个特定商标申请/注册的行政示因令和制裁令，公众可在美国商标状况和文献检索数据库(TSDR)进行查看。此外，商标申请一旦收到行政调查令，其审查流程将会暂缓，而数据库同样会显示审查暂缓状态。
The administrative process begins when the USPTO identifies or otherwise learns of a suspicious submission in connection with a trademark application or registration, based on information communicated by internal sources, such as examining attorneys and data analytics personnel, or through external sources, such as Letters of Start Printed Page 432 Protest, the TMScams@uspto.gov mailbox, law enforcement, or media reports.
The USPTO will investigate suspicious submissions, and any related submissions, to determine whether they: (1) Appear to violate the USPTO rules and/or the USPTO website's Terms of Use, and (2) are part of an improper filing scheme. These determinations are made using filing data from the suspicious submissions and any related submissions, as well as any other information and evidence available to the USPTO.
美国专利商标局将会对可疑商标申请以及任何关联申请展开调查，以确定它们是否 (1)违反USPTO规则及/或其网站使用条款，(2)是否属于不正当申请计划的一部分。通过分析可疑商标及关联商标申请提交的数据，以及任何其他可能获得的信息或证据，USPTO将做出相应裁定。
Once the USPTO initiates an investigation, the relevant application(s) may be removed from examination status to ensure that it does not move forward to approval for publication or registration while the administrative process is ongoing. In such cases, the USPTO will update the prosecution history to indicate that the application is suspended pending administrative review. In addition, a suspension letter will issue to all correspondence email addresses, as appropriate. When an application is suspended on this basis, any associated deadlines are also suspended, and the applicant will not be able to make any electronic submissions other than: (1) An express abandonment, (2) a withdrawal of attorney, or (3) a petition to the Director under Rule 2.146. 37 CFR 2.146. If an investigation ends without the issuance of an administrative order, the suspension will be lifted, and the application will then be assigned to an examining attorney for examination in the normal course or, if examination had begun prior to suspension, returned to the assigned examining attorney, who will issue a new Office action resetting any response deadline.
美国专利商标局一旦展开行政调查，相关商标申请的审查状态可能会被移除，以确保行政程序期间该商标不会继续审查以进入公告或获得注册。在这种情况下，商标状态将会更新为“申请暂缓，等待行政审查”。此外，USPTO会向该商标的所有通讯电子邮件发出暂缓信。一旦商标申请因行政程序而暂缓，任何相关程序的截止期限亦会暂缓，申请人将不能以电子形式提交任何申请或文件，但下列情况除外：(1)明确表示放弃申请，(2)撤回商标代理人，(3)根据第2.146. 37 CFR 2.146. 条向局长提出申请。如果调查结束而未发出行政命令，则暂缓会被解除，商标申请会被分配给审查员按照正常流程进行审查；如果暂缓之前商标已经开始审查，则该申请会被退回给指定审查员，由其下发新的审查意见，并设定新的答复截止期限。
If, upon investigation, the USPTO identifies conduct that illustrates violations of the USPTO rules and/or the USPTO website's Terms of Use, particularly conduct that indicates an intent to circumvent the USPTO rules, the Office may issue an order to show cause why sanctions should be imposed on individuals or entities involved, which may include the applicants or registrants themselves, or third parties involved in an improper filing scheme. A copy of the order to show cause will be placed in the electronic records of the affected applications or registrations.
The show cause order will inform the relevant parties of the conduct that indicates violations of the USPTO rules and/or the USPTO website's Terms of Use, identify the affected application(s) or registration(s), and specify the proposed action or sanction the USPTO deems appropriate, which may include terminating all involved applications, striking a submission, precluding a party from appearing before the USPTO in trademark matters, and/or deactivating all relevant uspto.gov accounts. The order will require the parties to respond by a certain date to explain why the USPTO should not impose the proposed sanctions. The USPTO will consider any timely response in determining whether to impose sanctions. Resubmitting documents or appointing a new attorney will not avoid the imposition of sanctions. Petitions such as those filed under 37 CFR 2.146 are not appropriate during the investigation or response period unless the USPTO made a mistake in including a specific application or registration in the show cause order. Furthermore, applicants and registrants are reminded that they are responsible for actions or omissions made by their representatives on their behalf. Moreover, any misrepresentation or deceit on the part of a representative does not necessarily constitute an “extraordinary circumstance” under 37 CFR 2.146 or 2.148.
示因命令将告知相关当事人其行为违反了USPTO规则及/或USPTO网站使用条款，会明确指出受影响的商标申请或注册，并告知行为人USPTO拟采取的行动或制裁，这可能包括终止所有相关商标申请、取消商标申请、禁止当事人在美国专利商标局出庭处理商标事宜、停用所有相关USPTO.gov帐户。该示因命令会要求相关当事人在规定期限内做出回应，以向USPTO说明为何不应采取相关制裁措施的原因。USPTO将会考虑各当事人在规定期限内提交的答复，并由此决定是否实施相应制裁。请注意，重新提交文件或任命新的代理人并不能避免相应制裁。除非USPTO在示因命令中所指的商标申请/注册出现错误，否则在调查或答复期限内不适合根据37 CFR 2.146条款提出相关申请。在此提醒商标申请人和注册人，对于其代理人的行为或不作为，其同样负有责任。此外，代理人的任何虚假陈述或欺骗并不一定构成第 37 CFR 2.146条或 第2.148 条中所规定的“特殊情形”。
The USPTO will issue a final decision that includes an order for sanctions, if appropriate. The order will indicate what sanctions were deemed appropriate to address the improper conduct, and will identify the application(s) or registration(s) subject to the sanctions. For transparency of process, a copy of the decision will be included in the TSDR record of the relevant application(s) or registration(s).
