What is a fee address for maintenance fee purposes?

A fee address is a designated address for receiving communications related to maintenance fee payments for patents. According to MPEP 2540, “Generally, notices, receipts, and other communications relating to the payment of a maintenance fee will be directed to the correspondence address used during the prosecution of the application, unless a ‘fee address’ for the…

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Are there restrictions on communicating with unregistered, suspended, or excluded attorneys regarding patent applications?

Yes, there are strict restrictions on communicating with unregistered, suspended, or excluded attorneys regarding patent applications. The MPEP clearly states: Office employees are forbidden from holding either oral or written communication with an unregistered, suspended or excluded attorney or agent regarding an application unless it is one in which said attorney or agent is the…

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