Article 4

1. [Representatives Admitted to Practice]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that a representative appointed for the purposes of any procedure before the Office
(i) have the right, under the applicable law, to practice before the Office in respect of applications and registrations and, where applicable, be admitted to practice before the Office;
(ii) provide, as its address, an address on a territory prescribed by the Contracting Party.
(b) An act, with respect to any procedure before the Office, by or in relation to a representative who complies with the requirements applied by the Contracting Party under subparagraph (a), shall have the effect of an act by or in relation to the applicant, holder or other interested person who appointed that representative.
 

2. [Mandatory Representation; Address for Service]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, an applicant, holder or other interested person who has neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its territory be represented by a representative.
(b) Any Contracting Party may, to the extent that it does not require representation in accordance with subparagraph (a), require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, an applicant, holder or other interested person who has neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its territory have an address for service on that territory.

3. [Power of Attorney]
(a) Whenever a Contracting Party allows or requires an applicant, a holder or any other interested person to be represented by a representative before the Office, it may require that the representative be appointed in a separate communication (hereinafter referred to as “power of attorney”) indicating the name of the applicant, the holder or the other person, as the case may be.
(b) The power of attorney may relate to one or more applications and/or registrations identified in the power of attorney or, subject to any exception indicated by the appointing person, to all existing and future applications and/or registrations of that person.
(c) The power of attorney may limit the powers of the representative to certain acts. Any Contracting Party may require that any power of attorney under which the representative has the right to withdraw an application or to surrender a registration contain an express indication to that effect.
(d) Where a communication is submitted to the Office by a person who refers to itself in the communication as a representative but where the Office is, at the time of the receipt of the communication, not in possession of the required power of attorney, the Contracting Party may require that the power of attorney be submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party, subject to the minimum time limit prescribed in the Regulations. Any Contracting Party may provide that, where the power of attorney has not been submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party, the communication by the said person shall have no effect.
 

4. [Reference to Power of Attorney] Any Contracting Party may require that any communication made to the Office by a representative for the purposes of a procedure before the Office contain a reference to the power of attorney on the basis of which the representative acts.

5. [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) and in Article 8 be complied with in respect of the matters dealt with in those paragraphs.

6. [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in any communication referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4).