What happens if there are conflicting correspondence addresses in a patent application?

What happens if there are conflicting correspondence addresses in a patent application?

When conflicting correspondence addresses are present in a patent application, the USPTO follows specific guidelines to determine which address to use. According to MPEP 601.03:

“Where more than one correspondence address is specified, the Office will select one of the specified addresses for use as the correspondence address and, if given, may select the address associated with a Customer Number over a typed correspondence address.”

In practice, this means:

• The USPTO will choose one address to use for correspondence.
• If a Customer Number is provided, it’s likely to be preferred over a typed address.
• To avoid confusion, it’s best to ensure that only one clear correspondence address is specified in your application.

To learn more:

• correspondence address
• conflicting addresses
• patent application