On Aug. 3, a new regulation promulgated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will take effect and require all trademark applicants, registrants and parties to trademark proceedings that are domiciled outside the United States to be represented by an attorney who has a license to practice law in the U.S. Consequently, individuals and entities with a permanent legal address or a principal place of business (i.e., headquarters) located outside the United States or its territories, respectively, will no longer be permitted to file any trademark-related submissions with the USPTO, either without an attorney or through an attorney who is not licensed in good standing in the United States. Moreover, under the new rule, U.S.-licensed attorneys who represent someone in a trademark matter, regardless of where domiciled, will now need to provide their U.S. state bar membership information along with an attestation that they are active members in good standing of the bar.
