In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced it will temporarily permit the filing of plant patent applications and follow-on documents via the USPTO patent electronic filing systems (EFS-Web or Patent Center) until further notice. Filers are reminded that only registered users of the USPTO patent electronic filing systems may file follow-on documents into existing applications via the USPTO patent electronic filing systems.
The USPTO considers the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak to be an “extraordinary situation” within the meaning of 37 CFR 1.183. The requirements for filing such plant patent applications and follow-on documents via the USPTO patent electronic filing systems were developed to assist filers and facilitate the USPTO’s identification and processing of the plant patent applications and follow-on documents during the pandemic.
Read more details in the official notice on our website. Inquiries regarding filing the application via EFS-Web or Patent Center may be directed to the Patent Electronic Business Center by telephone: 866-217-9197 (toll-free) and 571-272-4100, or by email: ebc@uspto.gov. Inquiries regarding plant applications may be directed to Shubo (Joe) Zhou, Supervisory Patent Examiner, by telephone: 571-272-0724.