ICYMI, a new Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) was released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last month.  The July 2021 revision replaces and supersedes the October 2018 version, and it incorporates final rules, examination guides, and Supreme Court decisions that have issued since then.  A change summary is available here.

The TMEP is a necessary tool for trademark practitioners.  As summarized on the USPTO’s website, “The Manual is published to provide trademark examining attorneys in the USPTO, trademark applicants, and attorneys and representatives for trademark applicants with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to prosecution of applications to register marks in the USPTO. The Manual contains guidelines for Examining Attorneys and materials in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the procedures which Examining Attorneys are required or authorized to follow in the examination of trademark applications.”

If you have not yet downloaded and saved a copy of the July 2021 TMEP, you can do so here.

[View source.]