On Wednesday, October 30, 2013, the Office issued the October 2013 update of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP).  The update (which is posted on the USPTO website here), includes precedential case law and other changes that have occurred since the April 2013 TMEP revision.  In a few areas, existing procedures have been revised or new procedures have been added.  For a listing of all the changes, see Changes in the TMEP October 2013 Edition.

The TMEP 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 TMEP 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.

October 2013 TMEP: http://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/detail/manual/TMEP/Oct2013/d1e2.xml