Advisory (26Nov2013): Due to system maintenance, Supplemental Content Data (SCORE) will be unavailable in both Private and Public PAIR beginning at 12:01 a.m. and ending at 6 a.m., Saturday, November 30. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Advisory (25Nov2013): The After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0), which had been scheduled to expire on December 14, 2013, has been extended through September 30, 2014. The terms of the AFCP 2.0 program, as implemented May 13, 2013, are unchanged. Visit www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/afcp.jsp to learn more about AFCP 2.0.
Advisory (19Nov2013): A new Patent Application Initiatives Timeline web page is now accessible to applicants and displays information on important patent programs and initiatives during each phase of the application process.
Advisory (14Nov2013): Both Public and Private PAIR will be unavailable on Saturday, November 16, 2013 starting at 12:01AM and ending at 5:30AM for system updates. The new PAIR updates include:
The Application Data tab will be enhanced to include the following new information:
- A hyperlink will be made available to view a list of all named inventors
- The First Named Applicant will now be displayed along with a hyperlink to view a list of all named applicants
The Continuity tab will be enhanced to include an AIA (First Inventor to File) status indicator for parent, non-provisional applications.
New document categories have been added to the Supplemental Content tab. These new categories include:
- Interim Copy FRPR - TXT Files
- US Patents w/color
- Certified FRPRs w/color
Document categories previously listed under "Other Supplemental Content Items" on the Supplemental Content tab have been separated into their own respective categories. These include:
- Drawings
- Chemical Formulas
- Mathematical Formulas
- 3D Protein Crystals
- Appendices - this category includes multiple document types
Advisory (24Oct2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 8:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, October 27, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory Update(17OCT2013): EFS-Web and Private PAIR: Java Version 7u45 Warning
On October 15, 2013, Oracle released Java update (7u45) that affects EFS-Web and Private PAIR users. If your Java version is updated to 7u45, you will receive a prompt on the Authentication page and Digital Certificate Management (DCM) page via a Security Warning message: "Allow access to the following application from this web site?" EFS-Web and Private PAIR users should click the Allow button with NO adverse effects in order to proceed.
EFS-WEB Registered and Private PAIR users who have older Java versions installed may experience problems with Authentication. It is recommended that these users update to Java 7 Update 45 and remove previous versions of Java. Java 7 Update 45 can be downloaded at: http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
Please check with your IT department to ensure compatibility. For additional information, see the Entrust Security Bulletin.
Assistance is available through the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-217-9197 (toll free) or EBC@uspto.gov
Advisory (16Oct2013): Access to U.S. references via Private PAIR will be unavailable on Thursday, October 17, beginning at 1:00 am and ending at 4:00 am Eastern Time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (16Oct2013): Access to U.S. references via Private PAIR will be unavailable on Thursday, October 17, beginning at 1:00 am and ending at 4:00 am Eastern Time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (30Sep2013): Current operating status for USPTO
Advisory (29AUG2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 8:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, August 31, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (19AUG2013): Users are currently experiencing problems accessing Private PAIR. We are currently working toward a resolution and apologize for the inconvenience. For further assistance, please contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197 (toll-free) or 571-272-4100 from 6AM to 12 Midnight Eastern time, Monday-Friday.
Advisory (15AUG2013): Due to system maintenance, Private PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 6:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, August 17, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (02AUG2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 3:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, August 03, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (18JUL2013): Due to system maintenance, Supplemental Content Data (SCORE) will be unavailable in both Private and Public PAIR beginning at 6:00PM Friday, July 19, 2013 and ending at 9:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, July 21, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (18JUL2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 5:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, July 21, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (20JUN2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 7:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, June 23, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (02JUN2012): The USPTO's Electronic Business Center is experiencing a temporary telephone outage. In the interim, please leave a voice mail message, or send an email to ebc@uspto.gov and a telephone agent will be in contact with you.
Advisory (17MAY2012): The After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP) has been revised. Visit www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/afcp.jsp to learn about AFCP 2.0, part of the USPTO'S on-going efforts towards compact prosecution and increased collaboration between examiners and stakeholders.
Advisory (17MAY2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 4:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, May 18, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (02MAY2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 4:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, May 04, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (30APR2013): Automatic Customer Number Update Issue via Private PAIR - Updates made via the Customer Number Details screen in Private PAIR are not being automatically processed. All submitted requests are being manually processed by the Electronic Business Center until the problem is resolved.
Advisory (25APR2013): e-Office Action Notification Failure for April 24-25 - RESOLVED
The issue with the delayed automatic e-mail notifications for e-Office Action participants on 4/24 and 24/25 has been resolved. All e-mail notifications for both days will be resent today. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
Advisory (25APR2013): e-Office Action Notification Failure for April 24-25 - Due to a system issue, the e-Office Action process is currently experiencing a problem with sending emails to external email addresses. Automatic Email notifications have been delayed for e-Office Action participants on 4/24 and 4/25 - emails are currently being sent manually. We are working to resolve this problem and anticipate the e-Office Action program will be working again shortly. In the meantime, please go to the Outgoing Correspondence tab in Private PAIR to check if you have new correspondence from the Office. We will keep you informed with follow-up announcements. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to access your new correspondence:
1. Log into Private PAIR
2. Under the Search for Customer Number section, select the View Outgoing Correspondence radio button, select "7 days" from the "for the past" drop-down list
3. Leave the selection for Select Customer Number drop-down list at the default option, "All"
4. A list of new Office correspondence will be available for the last 7 days, including today's
Advisory (11APR2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 5:30AM Eastern Time on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 10:00PM on Saturday, April 13, 2013 and ending at 5:30AM Eastern Time on Sunday, April 14, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (29MAR2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 10:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, March 30, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (20MAR2013): Some customers using Internet Explorer 9 and 10 are reporting they are unable to download PDF documents provided by the USPTO. This includes forms listed on the forms web page, last 40 Acknowledgement Receipts from EFS-WEB, and Image File Wrapper documents from Private and Public PAIR. The following message is displayed when the error occurs: "Filename.pdf couldn't be downloaded."
Microsoft's Knowledge Base has an article describing the issue and how to correct it. It can be found on the following page:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2549423 . Microsoft is the best source of information for questions related to the functioning of their software.
The issue can also be circumvented by using another browser such as Mozilla Firefox.
Advisory (15MAR2013): Due to system maintenance, Public and Private PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM March 16, 2013 and ending at 6:00AM Eastern Time on Saturday, March 16, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (08MAR2013): Due to system maintenance, Public and Private PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM March 09, 2013 and ending at 5:30AM Eastern Time on Saturday, March 09, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (01MAR2013): Java 7 Update 15 has been tested for EFS-Web and Private PAIR. Both applications have full functionality with the exception of downloading patent and publication references in Private PAIR as explained below.
* NOTE: the hyperlinks under section U.S. Patent Documents on the Display References tab in Private PAIR, used to download U.S. patent and publication references, may not work with Java 7.
Cited patent and publication numbers can be obtained within the 1449 and IDS documents listed under section Reference Forms on the Display References tab.
To access and download cited patent references go to: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/landing.html.
To access and download cited U.S. publication references, go to: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/landing.html
Java 7 Update 15 can be downloaded at: http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
It is recommended that all other Java versions be uninstalled prior to updating to Java 7 Update 15.
** Firefox users may need to enable support for Java 7 per instructions at: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/use-java-plugin-to-view-interactive-content
*** NOTE FOR Mac USERS: Mac OS X users who install Java 7 will not be able to utilize the Digital Certificate Management (DCM) to recover or create PKI certificates until further notice.
Advisory (11FEB2013): * Notice of Clarifying Modifications made to the USPTO's Public Key Infrastructure ("PKI") Subscriber Agreement
The USPTO's Public Key Infrastructure ("PKI") Subscriber Agreement has been modified to clarify that it is strictly prohibited for a PKI certificate(s) holder using Private PAIR, to access any nonpublic patent application or documents owned by another, absent specific authorization. The Agreement modifications also clarify the procedures to be followed in the case of any such access, and the grounds for revocation of the certificate(s). Lastly, the modifications make clear that PKI certificate(s) issued are not licenses required by law.
You can download the modified PKI Subscriber Agreement at:
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/status/private_pair/PKI_Subscriber_Agreement.pdf
Advisory (08FEB2013): Due to system maintenance, Public and Private PAIR will be unavailable beginning 10:00PM February 09, 2013 and ending at 7:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, February 10, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (24JAN2013): Due to system maintenance, Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 12:01AM and ending at 5:30AM Eastern Time on Saturday, January 26, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (24JAN2013): Due to system maintenance, both Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable beginning 1:00AM and ending at 8:00AM Eastern Time on Sunday, January 27, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Advisory (14JAN2013): Java 6 Update 38 is the current recommended version for EFS-Web and Private PAIR.
You can download Java 6 Update 38 at: http://java.com/en/download/manual_v6.jsp. Please ensure that you have uninstalled all other Java versions prior to downloading Java 6 Update 38. The USPTO recommends that you do not upgrade to Java 7 until further notice.
If you are using Firefox, please enable support for Java 6 using instructions provided at:
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-and-unblock-java (see section "Enabling Java")
Assistance is available through the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-217-9197 (toll free) or EBC@uspto.gov