Check this page for the latest information on operating status and availability of Online Business Systems. For Standard Hours of Availability for Online Business Systems, System Descriptions, and Operating Requirements/Compatibilities, see the links at left.
Current Events
EFS-Web and Private PAIR users now have a new, safer, and simpler login. The USPTO is moving from using PKI certificates for two-factor authentication because the PKI software vendor will no longer support the authentication software product after the end of 2018. With this in mind, the USPTO now offers users better security with the new, two-factor authentication method using USPTO.gov accounts. The new method grants access to multiple USPTO systems with one consolidated sign-in and eliminates shared credentials by providing practitioners and their support staff with their own USPTO.gov accounts.
The Migration Tool is available for existing PKI digital certificate holders (registered practitioners and independent inventors) to link their USPTO.gov accounts to their current PKI digital certificates. To successfully migrate, users must already have a USPTO.gov account. If you do not already have one, create a USPTO.gov account and opt-in for two-step authentication. Please follow the step-by-step instructions to migrate and allow 1–2 business days after you finish the migration steps for the process to complete; you can then use your USPTO.gov account to sign in to EFS-Web and Private PAIR. Customer Numbers associated with the PKI certificate will be migrated to the linked USPTO.gov account. PKI certificates can still be used to sign in to EFS-Web and Private PAIR as well.
The Sponsorship Tool is now available for existing registered practitioners to sponsor their support staff to work on their behalf. The support staff individual must have already created a USPTO.gov account and set it to two-step authentication in order to be sponsored by a practitioner. Please follow the step-by-step instructions to sponsor support staff. Once support staff are successfully sponsored, they will be able to sign in using their own USPTO.gov account and select the registered practitioner that they are working on behalf of. Please review the Patent Electronic System Access Document for additional information on authentication, sponsorship, and verification for accessing patent electronic systems.
Please note that there are new URLs for EFS-Web and Private PAIR for signing in using your USPTO.gov account. You will need to update any bookmarks to the new URLs below:
We welcome attendees to register for multiple information sessions related to this Authentication Change, because new information will be added as it becomes available.
For additional information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR.
If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.
Due to high-volume usage, you may experience intermittent issues on the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system between 6 – 8 a.m. ET. Refreshing your web browser should resolve the issue. If you still need assistance accessing a document, email teas@uspto.gov and include your serial number, the document you are looking for, and a screenshot of any error messages you have received. As of Oct. 4, 2018, bulk data customers should no longer obtain direct access to TSDR data through tsdrsec.uspto.gov. There are two alternative ways to receive bulk data from TSDR.
Posted at 11:02AM Dec 04, 2018 in Current Status |
Multiple Planned Events
The USPTO will perform maintenance on the Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA) beginning at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, December 15 and ending at 6 a.m., Saturday, December 15 ET.
During the maintenance period, ESTTA will be unavailable.
The USPTO will perform systems maintenance beginning at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, December 15 and ending at 10 a.m., Saturday, December 15 ET.
The my.uspto.gov website will be unavailable during the maintenance period. The maintenance will cause an outage to Financial Manager, an outage to Patent Maintenance Fee Storefront, and interruption to payment processing for all USPTO storefronts.
Users of the following systems should not attempt to make a payment during the maintenance period:
Patent Customers:
New applications and regular follow-on submissions may be filed during the maintenance period, but please do not submit ePetitions, eTerminal Disclaimers, Web 85b, or any submissions which require successful online fee payment at time of submission. For more information about alternative payment methods, please visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/filing-online/filing-documents-during-outage. If you have questions, please contact the EBC (Patent Electronic Business Center) at 1-866-217-9197, Monday through Friday 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 (https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/patent-trial-and-appeal-board/pta 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. Please also note that the Trademark Next Generation ID Manual (TMNG-IDM) will not be available during this deployment window.
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.
For EFS-Web and Private PAIR:
Migration Tool will not be available. Sponsorship Tool will not be available.
Please authenticate to EFS-Web and Private PAIR using a PKI certificate during the outage period. URLs for above links:
EFS-Web: https://efs.uspto.gov/TruePassWebStart/AuthenticationChooser.html
Private PAIR: https://ppair.uspto.gov/TruePassWebStart/AuthenticationChooser.html
The USPTO will perform maintenance on the Patent Trial Appeal Board End-to-End (PTAB E2E) beginning at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, December 15 and ending at 12:30 a.m., Saturday, December 15 ET.
PTAB E2E will be unavailable to during the maintenance period.
The USPTO will perform maintenance on the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and Trademark Electronic Application System International (TEASi) beginning at 8 a.m., Saturday, December 15 and ending at 6 p.m., Saturday, December 15 ET.
Please read the release highlights on our TEAS and TEASi Maintenance and Enhancement page (https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/filing-online/teas-teasi-maintenance-and-enhancement-section).
During the maintenance period, TEAS and TEASi will be unavailable. You should file all saved forms and e-signature forms by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 15 ET. If you don’t file these forms by that time, you will have to start the process again with new forms. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The USPTO will perform maintenance affecting several systems beginning at 12:01 a.m., Sunday, December 16 and ending at 9 a.m., Sunday, December 16 ET.
The following systems and systems that interface with these systems will be unavailable during the maintenance period:
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 ET, Monday - Friday, or email ebc@uspto.gov.
Posted at 04:18PM Dec 13, 2018 in Planned Events |