USPTO Systems Status and Availability

Current Events

EFS-Web Acknowledgement Receipt delays affecting some filers

Recently there have been Acknowledgement Receipt delays for some filers. If you did not receive an Acknowledgement Receipt after payment of fees, please follow the steps below to confirm that EFS-Web has received your submission and payment:

1. Registered users can access EFS-Web My Workplace > Last 40 Acknowledgement Receipts which shows the Application Number, Receipt Date, Title of Invention, and other pertinent information for your last 40 applications and follow-on submissions.  If the Acknowledgement Receipt was generated, you can select "View" to display it. If the Acknowledgement Receipt is not ready, the Receipt column will display "In Progress". 

2. EFS-Web received your submission if you see it listed under Last 40 Acknowledgement Receipts, even if the status is "In Progress”. Please do not file your submission again while waiting for EFS-Web to generate the Acknowledgement Receipt, because duplicate submissions may result in processing delays and non-refundable fees. Generation of the acknowledgement receipt could take up to 5 business days.

3. Please confirm payment status before submitting payment again. Filers who paid using a stored payment method established in Financial Manager can access it to confirm whether payments were successfully processed. You can confirm credit/debit card transactions via the credit card or bank’s website.

4. For ePetition and eTerminal Disclaimers, if you did not receive a grant letter or approval letter at the time of filing, please try to file your submission again at a later time. When re-submitting, you can certify that fees were previously paid for certain fees. If this option is not available, you will be required to pay again and request a refund for the payments that accompanied the failed ePetition/eTerminal Disclaimer submission.

For assistance with EFS-Web, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197 from 6 a.m. to 12 Midnight Eastern Time, Monday - Friday.

Posted at 10:43AM Jan 22, 2020 in Current Status  | 

Planned Events

Multiple Systems Maintenance

The USPTO will perform systems maintenance beginning at 12:01 a.m., Friday, January 24 and ending at 4 a.m., Friday, January 24 ET.

The following systems will be unavailable during the maintenance period:

• my.uspto.gov website
• Certified Copy Center (CCC)
• Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) for Registered eFilers
• Private PAIR
• Patent Practitioner Support Sponsorship Tool
• Trademark Next Generation ID Manual (TMNG-IDM)
• Trademark Next Generation Official Gazette (TMOG)
• Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS)
• Trademark Electronic Application System International (TEASi)

The maintenance will cause an outage to Financial Manager, an outage to Patent Maintenance Fee Storefront, and an interruption to payment processing for all USPTO storefronts.

Users of the following systems should not attempt to make a payment during the maintenance period:

• Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) for Unregistered eFilers and EFS-Web Contingency
• Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA)
• Electronic Trademark Assignment Search (ETAS)
• Patent Maintenance Fee Storefront
• Patent Trial and Appeal Board End to End (PTAB E2E)

For Patent Customers:

During the maintenance period, if you need to file a new patent application, you can use EFS-Web for Unregistered eFilers or EFS-Web Contingency. If you need to file a follow-on submission or pay fees, use an alternative filing or payment method.

If you have questions, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 1-866-217-9197, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. - midnight ET, or email ebc@uspto.gov.

For PTAB Customers:

If your deadline is today for the petition filing and/or other associated documents to a pending AIA case and you cannot file electronically via the Patent Trial and Appeal Board End-to-End System (PTAB-E2E), you may use an alternative filing method. Please visit the PTAB-E2E FAQ page and see A2 for information concerning your AIA petition filing and/or document filing using PTAB-E2E alternative filing methods. If you have any questions, contact PTAB during normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET by telephone at 571-272-7822 or email at Trials@uspto.gov.

For Trademark Customers:

If your deadline is today and the document requiring a fee payment cannot be filed electronically, you must use an alternative method of filing. Please visit the Trademark Outage Page for information concerning Trademark alternative filing methods. If you have any questions, contact the TEAS Team by email TEAS@uspto.gov.

For TTAB Customers:

If your deadline is today and the document cannot be filed electronically, you must use an alternative method of filing. Please visit the TTAB Outage Page for information concerning Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) alternative filing methods. If you have any questions, contact the TTAB Assistance Center during normal business hours between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays by telephone at 571-272-8500 or email TTABInfo@uspto.gov.

Multiple Systems Maintenance
The USPTO will perform maintenance affecting multiple systems beginning at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, January 25 and ending at 5 a.m., Saturday, January 25 ET.
The following systems and systems that interface with these systems will be unavailable during the maintenance period:

• EFS-Web for Registered eFilers
• Private PAIR
• Patent Center
• Sponsorship Tool

During this maintenance period, applicants can file new patent applications using EFS-Web for unregistered eFilers or EFS-Web Contingency.
Applicants can file follow-up on a submission, or use an alternative filing method..
If you have questions, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at (866) 217-9197 during their operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday - Friday ET, or email ebc@uspto.gov.

Fee Payment Processing Maintenance

The USPTO's Third-Party Credit Card Processing service, Pay.gov, will be performing maintenance that impacts USPTO credit/debit card fee payment processing beginning at 6 p.m., Saturday, January 25 and ending at 10 p.m., Saturday, January 25 ET.

The following USPTO storefronts will be unable to accept Credit/Debit card payments during the maintenance period:

• Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web)
• Electronic Filing System-Web Contingency (EFS-Web Contingency)
• Patent Center
• PatentsE2E
• Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS)
• Trademark Electronic Application System International (TEASI)
• Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA)
• Electronic Trademark Assignment Search (ETAS)
• Office of Enrollment and Discipline Roster of Patent Attorneys/Agents (OEDCI)
• Certified Copy Center (CCC)

Customers with an already established USPTO Deposit Account or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Account may still pay using one of these payment methods during this maintenance window.

Posted at 10:45AM Jan 22, 2020 in Planned Events  |