Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced enhancements to its Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS). The enhancements include the following:
- Notices of receipt, recordation, and non-recordation will be sent by email when authorized
- The assignement documents can now be viewed on the USPTO’s website
- Entity type and citizen information for the receiving party have become mandatory fields
- Ownership information received from the International Bureau (IB) for Madrid Protocol applications are viewable on the USPTO’s website
Of these changes, arguably the most important is the ability to view the underlying assignment documents.