USAApp Subscriber Notice

We are pleased to provide you with the first USAApp disc, issue USA2001W11. This disc contains the first set of facsimile images of patent application publications published on 2001 March 15. Note that in contrast with patent grants, which are published on Tuesdays, applications will be published on Thursdays. USAApp is a document delivery system, not a search system. Retrieval is by document number only from a cumulative index.

The first USAApp discs will be published on CD-ROM, as there are not yet enough publication documents to warrant the expense of DVD-ROM mastering. The projected numbers for the first six weeks of publication are around 100, with 47 being published the first week. We will migrate to DVD-ROM when it becomes necessary. You will be alerted when this is about to occur. We are estimating that there will be one disc per week for the near future; the number will increase with time, as more applications are published. We are anticipating that this will occur around 2002 August. In the beginning, USAApp will use a modified version of the DocDW software used with USAPat and USAMark.

In order to get this new product out on time, we are sending the first issues with a modified version of DocDW. This modified version will have all of the basic DocDW functions enabled, but some of the more sophisticated features will not be available. This was necessary because some details of the file and record formats were only recently resolved. The cumulative index will be active, as will basic printing and exporting. However, the batch export and printing functions will not be active. The ReadMe file that will display when USAApp opens will provide complete information on which functions are or are not enabled. As the functions are enabled, the ReadMe file will be updated.

The American Inventor Protection Act, which went into effect on 2000 November 29, requires that certain applications filed on or after 2000 November 29 be published eighteen months after the effective filing date. The application will automatically be published unless the inventor verifies that he/she is not applying in a country other than the U.S. and specifically requests that the application not be published. Utility and plant patent applications are subject to eighteen-month publication; design and provisional applications are not included in the law. Patent application publications will be numbered using the following format - the country code (US), the year of publication, a 7-digit numerically sequenced number, and the kind code indicating the type of publication:

US 2001-0000001 A1 for the first publication of a utility application

US 2001-0000001 P1 for the first publication of a plant application

US 2001-0000001 A9 for a correction of a utility application publication

US 2001-0000001 P9 for a correction of a plant application publication

Utility patent grant publications, which were previously identified as "A1" will now be given a "B1" kind code if there was no prior publication, "B2" if there was a prior publication. Re-examined publications, which have previously been identified as "B" publications, will now be identified as "Cx" publications. For more information about other possible kind codes and the eighteen-month publication process, please refer to the USPTO Web site at www.uspto.gov.

To install USAApp, please follow these instructions:

1. Insert the disc into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
2. Go to Windows Explorer or My Computer and locate the disc.  Click on the setup.exe to begin the installation.
3. Select "Open" or "Restricted" Installation.  The Restricted Installation was developed for a library-type environment.
4. You will receive a message when the process is completed.
5. As with USAPat and USAMark, a USAApp icon will be placed on your desktop, USAApp will be added to your            Start/Programs/Cassis
   directory, and the cumulative index will be installed to your hard drive.
   

Please contact us if you have any questions about this new product.

2001 April 9