602.9 General Policy Regarding Social Security Numbers, Driver’s License Numbers, Credit Card Numbers, and Bank Account Numbers
The applicant should not provide any private or confidential information in the application that is not required for registration. The information that is provided in the application may be included in the certificate of registration and the online public record.
When submitting an online application through the electronic registration system, the applicant may pay the filing fee by providing a credit card number or bank account number on the Online Payment screen. The applicant should not provide this type of information in any other portion of the application.
If the registration specialist discovers a social security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, or bank account number in the application, he or she will remove that information from the record. If the number is not discovered during the examination process and subsequently appears in the certificate of registration or the online public record, the author, the claimant, or their respective representatives may submit a written request to the Office to remove this information from the registration record. See 37 C.F.R. § 201.2 (F).
For information concerning this procedure and a general discussion of privacy issues, see Chapter 200, Section 205.