PAIR FAQs

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PAIR Help - Download & Search - Other

Both Public and Private PAIR provide Image File Wrapper documents in PDF format. You will need to install a PDF view, such as Adobe Reader to view document images in the browser, and after download. The latest version of Adobe Reader is recommended; USPTO does not endorse this product, however, these are the versions that have been tested to date. For more information on PDF viewers please see: http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/plugins/pdf.htm

>> Viewers & Plugins page

Images of non-patent literature (NPL) cited in public patent application files are not available for either viewing or downloading through Public PAIR. Certified copies of the full contents of the patent application files, including NPL are available from the USPTO Public Records Division. To order a copy of this document, » click here.

For questions regarding patent document copies available for order, contact the PRD Customer Service Line: (571) 272-3150 or (800) 972-6382 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

 

Please refer to the OEMS (Order Entry Management System) guide located at:

Order Entry Management System Quick Start Guide [DOC]

>> MS Word viewer for [DOC] files

To maintain general availability of USPTO information and services provided on the Internet, any activity or operation by a third party that has the potential to cause a denial or diminution (decrease) of services to other customers, whether generated automatically or manually, will result in the Office's denying access to the Office Internet resources to that third party.

Contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) for assistance with IFW images in PAIR. The Patent EBC is a complete customer service center that supports all Patent e-business products and service applications, and can be reached at 571-272-4100 or toll-free at 866-217-9197 between the hours of 6 am and 12 midnight Monday through Friday ET, or by e-mail to ebc@uspto.gov.

PAIR Help - PAIR Administration - eOffice Action - Basics

To access Private PAIR you must:

  • be a registered patent attorney/agent, an Independent Inventor, or a person granted limited recognition;
  • have a customer number; and
  • have a digital PKI certificate.

Instructions on how to apply for a Customer Number and digital PKI certificate can be found on the Patent EBC Web site.

To access Private PAIR you must:

  • be a registered patent attorney/agent, an Independent Inventor, or a person granted limited recognition;
  • have a customer number; and
  • have a digital PKI certificate.

Instructions on how to apply for a Customer Number and digital PKI certificate can be found on the Patent EBC Web site.

PAIR Help - eOffice Action - Basics

Yes. Specific e-Office Action related events with corresponding date are available in the Transaction History tab in Private PAIR. The Transaction Description events are self explanatory and are labeled as “Email Notification,” “Electronic Review,” and if applicable “Mail Post Card.” In addition, an OA.EMAIL document is placed in the file wrapper of the application notified that day. The OA.EMAIL document is a truncated version of the daily e-mail listing details of only that specific application number’s new communication.

By registering for the e-Office Action program, participant is authorizing the Office to send e-mail notifications of Office communications entered by the participating Office business units in the applications associated with the Customer Number. The e-Office Action program does not, otherwise, change the policy for communication via the Internet set forth in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 502.03. The e-mail notification is simply an automated e-mail sent by the Office. It is not an e-mail sent by the examiner. The program does not alter the Office policy prohibiting an applicant or examiner from engaging in improper e-mail correspondence.

PAIR Help - eOffice Action - General

The USPTO.GOV domain must be listed in the ‘allow’ or ‘white’ list.

Additional spam filter configurations are:

  • The subject name of the notification: Private PAIR Correspondence Notification for Customer Number XXXXX, where XXXXX refers to your Customer Number
  • The ‘From’ field of the e-mail is PAIR_eOfficeAction@uspto.gov (link sends e-mail). Please do not reply to this email address

PAIR Help - General - Other

View Outgoing Correspondence Notification(s) in Private PAIR requires the user have a USPTO issued PKI Certificate and a valid Customer Number. Expand menu for Search by Customer Number, then select View Outgoing Correspondence, and select search parameters.

Results of View Outgoing Correspondence Notification(s): 

A table displaying: 

•Application Number 
•Patent Number
•Attorney Docket Number
•Customer Number
•Mailing Date
•Image Date
•Document Code
•Document Description
•Earliest Image View Date
•Viewed By
•Docketed

If a document image is available, the “Document Description" will be underlined and provide a link to view the correspondence corresponding image. 

Please visit:  EXPLANATION OF PATENT TERM ADJUSTMENT CALCULATION

Please visit: EXPLANATION OF PATENT TERM EXTENSION CALCULATION

Maintenance Fee data is available Monday - Friday from 5:30 AM to Midnight E.T. and Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM E.T. Information about maintenance fees may also be obtained through PAIR. Patentees and members of the public viewing this data should double check the information with the Maintenance Fee Division, before, for example, assuming that 'no fees to pay' means that all of the fees have been paid. Such a message may also appear if the period for payment of maintenance fee has expired and the patent has now expired.

Maintenance Fees - Retrieve fees to pay provides information about unpaid maintenance fees and allows you to make your payment online by credit card, electronic funds transfer (EFT) or deposit account.

Maintenance Fees - View payment windows provides information regarding maintenance fee due dates.

Maintenance Statement - View ... year payment window provides information regarding maintenance fees previously paid for the payment year selected. When trying to view a statement, if the error message "no fees pending on finance" appears, the fee has not yet been paid. Use the Maintenance Fees - View payment windows search option to display the dates for the most recently due maintenance fee. If the most recent fee due has not been paid and the 'payment window closing date' has past, the patent is considered expired as of that 'closing date', with the exception of certain cases where a petition has been filed (recorded in the File History/Transaction History). If a petition has been filed and 'granted', the patent remains in tact but the maintenance fee statement will not be viewable because the fee was paid with the petition fee. Please refer to the Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront for further information.

The customer number associated with a PCT application will be used only for Private PAIR access and will not be used for the correspondence address.  Therefore any changes to the customer number will not affect the PCT application.

From the Private PAIR search screen, select your customer number from the drop-down list below View Customer Number Details and click the Search button. 

To submit a paper change request, click the "Request for Customer Number Data Change" link below the Customer Number Details screen to display and print PTO/SB/124A in PDF format. Use this paper form to mail or fax changes in the correspondence address or list of individuals associated with a Customer Number. Submit the completed form via fax to (703) 308-2840 or mail to: 

USPTO 
Mail Stop EBC 
P.O. Box 1450 
Alexandria, VA   22313

To submit an online change request, click the "Request Data Changes" button below the Customer Number Details screen. This returns the Request Data Changes for Customer Number online form for changes to Customer Number Address, addition of individuals, or deletion of individuals from the Customer Number. 

To associate existing patent applications to a Customer Number, you can complete and submit the Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet located at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/register.jsp. Download the Customer Number Update Template and after filling out the MS Excel spreadsheet, save it on a USB Memory Stick or CD and mail it to the Patent EBC at

USPTO
Mail Stop EBC
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria VA 22313

Another method to associate an application to a customer number is to submit the Change of Correspondence Address form (SB/122) located at http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/sb0122_fill.pdf.  Unlike the Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet where multiple applications/patents can be listed, the Change of Correspondence Address form can be used to only associate a single application to a customer number.  Only the customer number should be indicated on the SB/122 form with physical address left blank.  Customer number associations using the SB/122 form are processed by the Applications Assistants Unit or a Technology Center. The EBC processes the automated Upload Spreadsheet. 

Using the spreadsheet to change the correspondence address and/or maintenance fee address on applications is a legal record of change. This spreadsheet MUST be accompanied by a cover letter signed by someone who, for each application or patent listed on the attached spreadsheet, is either: (1) the Pro Se applicant [definition in new window] , or the Sole Inventor, where there is not registered Patent Attorney or Agent of Record, or (2) an Attorney or Agent of Record.

Note, however, a practitioner is not necessarily of record in an application when the practitioner is associated with a customer number and the customer number is associated with an application. A practitioner is only of record in an application when the power of attorney is given to the practitioner or to a list of practitioners associated with a customer number (and the practitioner is associated with the customer number).

Yes, Attorney Docket Number updates are automatically processed.

The "Publication Review" button  appears in the Private PAIR and allows applicants to enter and submit Correction Requests to data shown on the Publication Review screen to match the data set forth in certain previously filed application papers. Correction Requests must be received earlier than fourteen (14) weeks prior to the projected publication date to be reflected in the patent application publication.  This screen cannot be used to submit Correction Requests in applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 (i.e., national stage applications).  This screen also cannot accept special characters, e.g., umlauts.  Additional information can be found here: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/status/private_pair/pub_review_instructions.jsp

Public PAIR: provides access to public applications including: patents, published applications, and applications to which a patented or published application claims domestic priority. PCT applications that have not been published by WIPO and any applications that have not been released by the USPTO Licensing and Review Board will not be viewable in Public PAIR. Prosecution history and document images for Chapter II are not viewable in Public PAIR.

Private PAIR: Any applications you associate with your Customer Number, including pending, non-published PCT applications (as of 16DEC2006), except any applications that have not been released by the USPTO Licensing and Review Board.

PAIR is the Patent Application Information Retrieval system that displays information regarding patent application status. There is both a Public and Private side to PAIR. “Public PAIR” provides access to issued or published patent applications. To access Public PAIR, you need only have a patent, application, publication, or PCT number that you wish to search. “Private PAIR” provides secure real-time access to unpublished applications using digital certificates issued from the USPTO's Public Key Infrastructure. Private PAIR allows provides access to all application information that is available in Public PAIR. To access Private PAIR, you must:

  • - be a registered patent attorney/agent, an Independent Inventor, or a person granted limited recognition,
    - have a customer number,
    - have a digital PKI certificate to secure the transmission of the application to the USPTO

>> see the Patent EBC - New Users for information on accessing Private PAIR

Yes! The information in PAIR is real-time status information.

PAIR Help - General - Technical Information - PAIR - Other - Other

Retrieve the patent information from Public or Private PAIR by using the Patent Number search option. Then, select the "Continuity Data" tab or search option, and review the "Child Continuity Data." If a reexamination was requested for the patent or was ordered at the initiative of the USPTO, and is pending or concluded, then the reexamination proceeding(s) will be listed in the Child Continuity Data section and may be identified by the Control Number of the reexamination proceeding, which begins with "90" or "95", i.e., 95/000,000. Select the Control Number link to view information regarding the reexamination proceeding, such as the current status of the proceeding.

Reexamination proceedings may also be searched directly in PAIR by using the Control Number search option.

For additional information on reexamination proceedings, you may wish to review Patent Official Gazette Notices, or contact the Office of Patent Legal Administration, Central Reexamination Unit at (571) 272-7705.

PAIR Help - Hague Agreement - Other

Yes. Once the international design application has been published by WIPO, the Published Documents tab will become available in PAIR and users will be able to link to WIPO’s Hague Express database and view the WIPO publication and associated records.

The International Registration Publication Date is the date WIPO published the international design application.

An international design application satisfying the requirements under the Hague Agreement for international registration will be assigned an international registration number by WIPO, which begins with the series code “DM/nnnnnn”. Thereafter, the international design application will be published by WIPO.

The Hague Agreement refers to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.  The Hague Agreement is an international registration system which facilitates protection of industrial designs in member countries and intergovernmental organizations (also referred to as “Contracting Parties”) by means of a single international design application filed either directly with the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or indirectly through the applicant’s Contracting Party.

Information concerning the Hague Agreement, including geographic coverage and a guide for users, is available at WIPO’s Web site http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/

More information can be found on the USPTO website - http://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/hague-agreement-concerning-international-registration-industrial-designs

International design applications received by the USPTO are assigned a 35-series application number (“35/nnn,nnn”). PAIR users can search for a 35-series application by using the “Application Number” search found under the “Search for Application” section in PAIR. In addition, PAIR users can search for a 35-series application corresponding to a published international design application designating the United States by the international registration number using the “International Design Registration Number” search found under the “Search for Application” section in PAIR.

PAIR Help - PAIR Administration - Other

Users will be able to access previously submitted requests for up to 90 days. 

Saved requests will be saved for seven calendar days and then will be deleted from the system.

Power of Attorney in an application can either be assigned by customer number or by a list of registration numbers.  If POA is designated to a list of registration numbers  instead of a customer number, there will be no customer number address information displayed. 

If there is no power of attorney assigned to a given application, the Power of Attorney Address page will not display any information.

If a maintenance fee address has not been assigned to the application the address information will be blank.  If no fee address is assigned upon issuance, the correspondence address will be used for maintenance fee purposes.

Address change requests for the following application types cannot be submitted through Private PAIR:

  • PCT Applications
  • Reexamination Proceedings
  • Supplemental Examination Proceedings

Although the correspondence address of the application is updated in real-time, the application will not appear in the customer number application search until the following day.  You will be able to search by individual application number the same day and see the updated address.

At this time, we cannot verify independent inventorship based on inventor name alone.

The Private PAIR system compares the registration number that is tied to the user's PKI certificate to the registration numbers that are listed as having power of attorney in our internal database.  If the registration number is listed as having power of attorney, the system will accept and process the address change request.  If power of attorney cannot be verified, the system will not accept or process the request.

Up to 20 applications can be listed to update the correspondence address and the maintenance fee address.

Found under the “PAIR Administration” menu, users will now have the ability to update an application's correspondence and or maintenance fee address information. Users will be able to enter the desired customer number and up to 20 application numbers. For more information, please refer to the Update Application Address Quick Start Guide.   

No.  All applications are initially set to Regular Undiscounted entity status (BIG. under the PAIR Transaction History) by default until the application completes formalities review.  When this occurs, the entity status will be set to the desired status provided all filing requirements have been met.

At this time, PCT applications are not available for Private PAIR entity status changes.

In order to have permission to change the entity status of an application, the PKI certificate of the Private PAIR user must be associated to the customer number that is assigned to the correspondence address of the application.  Only then will the 'Update' hyperlink be available.

Upon searching for an application in Private PAIR, you will find an 'Update' hyperlink on the Application Data tab next to the application's current entity status.  Select 'Update' and complete the request form.  For more information, please refer to the Change Entity Status Quick Start Guide.   

 

No.  In order to have permission to change the entity status of an application, the PKI certificate of the Private PAIR user must be associated to the customer number that is assigned to the correspondence address of the application.  Only then will the 'Update' hyperlink be available.

Create the customer number using the maintenance fee address details but do not associate any registration numbers to the new customer number.  Now access Update Application Address under the PAIR Adminstration menu. Enter the application number and/or patent number, select only the Maintenance Fee Address checkbox, then Submit. 

The state can be added in the same field as the city separated by a comma.

As part of the new customer number requests, users can associate up to 100 registration numbers.  Additional registration numbers can be added under View Customer Number Details.

There are two ways to enroll a customer number into the e-Office Action program.

  1. e-Office Action enrollment has been incorporated into the Private PAIR Create New Customer Number process.  As part of the online new customer number form, users can select to receive outgoing correspondence notification via email.  Upon selecting this option, no other steps are needed.  
  2. The process to enroll an existing customer number into e-Office Action has not changed.  From the PAIR Administration menu, users can select 'View Customer Number Details' and update the outgoing correspondence selection by submitting this request form.

View Customer Number Details (Private PAIR) requires the user to have a USPTO-issued PKI digital Certificate and a valid Customer Number. You may view and request changes for the customer correspondence address and all practitioners related to a specific customer number under the PAIR Administration section. The Request Data Changes for Customer Number online form allows changes to Customer Number Address, addition of individuals, or deletion of individuals from the Customer Number.

Found under the “PAIR Administration” menu, users will now have the ability to create a new customer number. Users will be able to enter address information, choose the preferred method of outgoing correspondence (Mail, e-Mail) and registered practitioners will be able to associate additional attorneys or agents to the customer number. For more information, please refer to the Create New Customer Number Quick Start Guide linked below.  

Yes! All changes made to the Customer Number’s address and all Attorney disassociations as well as Attorney additions are processed automatically. 

PAIR Help - Private PAIR - Other

e-Office Action participants enjoy the benefit of being notified electronically but found downloading and viewing new correspondence a burden.  When an e-Office Action program user receives their daily email, they can now search for that specific day, by customer number, and the displayed results will match the list of applications and documents in that day’s email.  User's can then download by application number or select all and download all correspondence, by customer number, for that day using a few simple clicks.

PAIR Help - Register your USPTO.gov account - Other

PAIR Help - Register your USPTO.gov account

Register your USPTO.gov account

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