Current Events
OEDCI Outage
OED systems (Practitioner and Applicant Portals) are experiencing issues uploading documents. Technicians are investigating the issue.
Update (October 2, 2020):
Notices of Allowance (NOAs) with the mail date of October 2, 2020 may specify an incorrect issue fee amount. We are taking corrective action by mailing a Corrected Notice of Allowance in such cases. Notice of Allowance mailed on or after October 2, 2020 should specify the increased issue fee amount according to the USTPO fee schedule effective October 2. If you received an NOA specifying an incorrect issue fee amount, please wait to pay the issue fee until you have received a Corrected Notice of Allowance resetting the fee due, which will also reset the time period for paying the fee.
Update (October 1, 2020):
This update applies to applicants who received a Notice of Allowance that has a mail date between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020, and that specifies an incorrect issue fee amount. Corrected Notices of Allowance are now available in Private PAIR and Patent Center, and includes an attachment providing additional explanations and instructions as to how to properly respond.
General Advisory on Issue Fee Amounts (September 16, 2020).
Notices of Allowance mailed during the period of September 9 to September 15 may specify an incorrect issue fee amount.
Effective October 2, 2020, many patent fees, including the issue fee, will increase. Currently the issue fees are $1,000.00, $500.00 and $250.00 for undiscounted, small entity and micro entity, respectively for Utility and Reissue applications. For current issue fee amounts in other types of applications, please see the Current Fee Schedule (as of September 16, 2020). The issue fees will increase to $1,200.00, $600.00 and $300.00 for undiscounted, small entity and micro entity, respectively. For increased issue fee amounts in other types of applications, effective on October 2, please see the fee schedule-effective October 2. Only Notices of Allowance mailed on or after October 2, 2020 should specify the increased issue fee amount. However, due to a technical problem, most Notices of Allowance mailed between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020 specify the increased issue fee amount. The Office is taking corrective action by mailing a Corrected Notice of Allowance (NOA) in all such cases, where the issue fee has not yet been paid.
For applicants who received a Notice of Allowance that has a mail date between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020, and that specifies an incorrect issue fee amount, please wait to pay the issue fee until you have received a Corrected Notice of Allowance resetting the fee due, which will also reset the time period for paying the fee. The issue fee amount specified on the Corrected Notice of Allowance will be the issue fee amount due even if the issue fee is paid on or after October 2, 2020 – the date the increased issue fee amount takes effect.
Applicants should verify that any Notice of Allowance received by the applicant has a mail date between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020, and that the Notice of Allowance specifies an incorrect issue fee amount, before opting to wait for a Corrected Notice of Allowance. A Corrected Notice of Allowance will only be mailed for cases that received a Notice of Allowance specifying an incorrect fee amount during the period of September 9 to September 15. If you do not receive a Corrected Notice of Allowance to replace the incorrect Notice of Allowance by October 2, 2020, and the issue fee has not yet been paid, then please contact the Application Assistance Unit.
If you have already paid the issue fee in response to a Notice of Allowance that has a mail date between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020, and that specifies an incorrect amount, or if you have paid the issue fee and then received a Corrected Notice of Allowance, the USPTO will follow up with further guidance.
Notices of Allowance for international design applications that have mail dates between September 9, 2020 and September 15, 2020 specify the correct issue fee amount and were not affected by this problem. Applicants may respond to the Notice of Allowance as specified therein.
For questions regarding Issue Fee amount calculation, please contact the Application Assistance Unit at 888-786-0101 or HelpAAU@uspto.gov.
For assistance with PAIR or EFS-Web, please contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197 or ebc@uspto.gov
USPTO Call Center Delays
Due to technical problems, some USPTO Call Centers are experiencing longer than normal wait times. The support teams are working to resolve the problems and appreciate your patience. An update will be sent out as soon as the problems are resolved.
Posted at 04:30AM Oct 19, 2020 in Current Status |