Advisory (05NOV2012): EFS-Web filers may use Adobe Reader 11 to complete EFS-Web Fillable Forms (eADS, eIDS, etc.). Previous versions remain compatible:
* 7.0.8, 7.0.9, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 7.1.4
* 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.1.3, 8.1.4, 8.1.5, 8.1.6, 8.1.7, 8.2, 8.2.1, 8.2.2, 8.2.3, 8.2.4, 8.2.5, 8.2.6, 8.3, 8.3.1;
* 9.0, 9.1, 9.1.1, 9.1.2, 9.2, 9.3, 9.3.1, 9.3.2, 9.3.3, 9.3.4, 9.4, 9.4.1, 9.4.2, 9.4.3, 9.4.4, 9.4.5, 9.4.6, 9.4.7, 9.5, 9.5.1, 9.5.2;
* 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.1, 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4
Advisory (19SEPT2012): Effective September 16, 2012, Supplemental Examination requests and Third-Party Preissuance Submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 may be filed by selecting the appropriate options via EFS-Web.
For more info, please see:
* Supplemental Examination Quick Start Guide [PDF 2.4MB]
* AIA micro-site: Supplemental Exam
* Third-Party Submissions Quick Start Guide [PDF 1.83MB]
* AIA micro-site: Third-Party Submission
* EFS-Web Legal Framework - update will be posted soon
Some Patent forms have been updated due to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA).
Please see the Patents Forms page for more info.
Petitions for Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review, and Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents cannot be filed via EFS-Web and must be filed via the new Patent Review Processing System (PRPS).
Advisory (30July2012): Delivery of U.S. Pre-Grant Search Results to the EPO Without Delay Requires Timely Consent From Applicants
Current EPO regulations require that search results from an application, to which a European patent application filed on or after January 1, 2011 claims priority, must be filed with the EPO without delay after the search results are made available to applicants. See Amended Rule 141(1) EPC (European Patent Convention). For the time being, U.S. applicants are exempt from personally providing search results for a U.S. priority application to the EPO as a result of an arrangement worked out between the USPTO and the EPO, whereby the USPTO will electronically deliver search results from priority U.S. applications to the EPO, as a no-charge service to applicants. See Electronic Delivery of Search Results From the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the European Patent Office, 76 FR 82279 (December 30, 2011).
Maintenance of the exemption, however, is dependent upon delivery of search results by the USPTO to the EPO as soon as they become available, including when search results are available prior to publication of the U.S. application. Because 35 U.S.C. 122 prohibits the USPTO from providing information about an as-yet unpublished application to a third party without the applicant's consent, timely delivery of pre-publication search results requires applicant cooperation in providing the USPTO with the proper consent to release the search result information to the EPO. Failure of applicants to provide the USPTO with the required consent will prevent the USPTO from delivering the search results in a timely fashion and could result in EPO rescinding the exemption, which would require all U.S. applicants to provide the search result information to the EPO at their own time and expense.
Therefore, applicants are strongly urged to timely file the Certification and Authorization form PTO/SB/69 (available at http://www.uspto.gov/forms/sb0069.pdf) in each application that is intended to form the basis for a claim of priority to a corresponding application filed with the EPO. This form provides applicant's consent for the USPTO to deliver to the EPO the search results from an unpublished U.S. application. Applicants should file the form prior to filing a European application that claims priority to the U.S. application in order for search results to be delivered to the EPO without delay should they become available prior to publication of the U.S. application.
When filing form PTO/SB/69 using EFS-Web, applicants should be careful to select the correct document description "PTO/SB/69 - Authorize EPO Access to Search Results," which can be found under the General Transmittal category. Identifying form PTO/SB/69 using any other document description will significantly delay or prevent delivery of the search results from an unpublished U.S. application to the EPO.
Advisory (24MAY2012): New Maximum Daily Limit for Credit Cards - Effective June 30, 2012
The maximum daily limit per credit card or debit card account is currently $99,999.99. Effective June 30, 2012, the daily limit per credit card account will be lowered to $49,999.99, and the daily limit for debit cards will be eliminated. All credit card and debit card payments are processed through the Department of the Treasury's Pay.gov system. The new daily limit for credit cards will automatically be enforced through the Pay.gov system; if cardholders exceed the daily limit, a message will indicate that the maximum daily limit has been reached and the payment will be rejected.
Existing alternatives for submitting large dollar payments are deposit account, electronic funds transfer (EFT) over the USPTO Web site, and wire transfer through the Federal Reserve Fedwire System.
Advisory (3MAY2012): Learn more about the eOffice Action program at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/status/e-Office_Action.jsp which will notify you via email that an Office communication is available for viewing and downloading in Private PAIR
Advisory (6APR2012): The online fee payment amounts in EFS-Web are set to the current fee schedule. The transmittal fee, international filing fee, international search fee or other fee amounts payable for a PCT international application may not equal the online fee payment amount. As a result, online fee payment in EFS-Web is not available when the online fee amount is not equal to the fee amount that is desired to be paid. See MPEP 502.05(II)(E) for alternative means of fee payment.
Advisory (5APR2012): Tell your friends and family USPTO is hiring patent examiners in a variety of engineering, science & IP law disciplines. Amazing benefits and opportunities to support economic growth in an exciting field of work. Visit www.USPTOcareers.gov (link is external) for more
Advisory (21FEB2012): The Office is no longer accepting Petitions to Make Special Under the Green Technology Pilot Program or requests for reconsideration based solely on a defective original petition. The program will meet its limit based on petitions that were previously filed and are awaiting decision.
The pending petitions will be taken in turn as set forth in the original Notice, i.e., in the order that the applications are in condition for examination. The Office will treat any pending petition in an application that is in condition for examination on or before the cut-off date, i.e., the date that the 3,500th application for which a petition is granted was in condition for examination. Pending requests for reconsideration based upon a defective original petition will only be considered if they were filed on or before the cut-off date.
Requests for reconsideration based solely on an erroneous decision may continue to be filed and will be considered.
More information on the program can be found at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/green_tech.jsp.