USPTO Announces Updates to the
Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) System

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is pleased to announce the availability of an updated version of Private PAIR, Version 5.6.

Private PAIR allows independent inventors, registered patent attorneys, and patent agents the ability to access real-time status information, application documents and history information of their pending patent applications using the Internet.

Benefits of Private PAIR 5.6 include:

• The Attorney/Agent listing now displays the attorney’s registration status with the USPTO. For example, if an attorney’s registration is inactive, PAIR now lists this information.
• Forms that have been re-mailed to applicants are now displayed in Private PAIR.
• The Applicant column displays accurate Patent Term Extension (PTE) history.

Registering for Private PAIR

To register for Private PAIR, customers must first obtain the essential identification materials:

1. Customer Number

   Unique number associated with a correspondence address, practitioner(s) of record, and/or fee address of the filer.

2. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate

   Unique profile (created using security software) associated with a single registered practitioner or an independent inventor not retaining counsel.

Once the Customer Number and PKI Certificate have been obtained, customers must:

3. Associate Current Patent Applications with the Customer Number

   Customers must associate current patent applications with their new customer number.

The required forms and instructions on registering for Private PAIR are available on the USPTO Internet’s PAIR New Users Page: https://www.uspto.gov/ebc/digitalcert.htm.

Contact Information

The Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) is a complete customer service center that supports all Patent e-business products and service applications. EBC representatives can be reached toll free at 866-217-9197 between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight Monday through Friday EST, or by e-mail at: ebc@uspto.gov. Additional information is available on the Patent EBC Web site at: https://www.uspto.gov/ebc/index.html.

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