Status of Certification Services

   On November 28, 1995, the Office published an Official Gazette Notice
entitled "Temporary Suspension of At Cost Services for Orders for Certified
Copies" (1180 OG 121) to advise practitioners and the public of delays in
filling orders for certified copies of PTO documents. This is an update of
actual calendar days to mail for orders filled during the month of
March 1999:

Certified Product                 Goal          Actual
                                                Calendar
                                                Days
                                                to Mail

Patent Application-As-Filed,       7               4
Expedited
Patent Application-As-Filed,      17               9
Regular
Patent Related File Wrapper       25              52*
Patent Copy                       10               5
Patent Assignments                10               7

Trademark Application-As-Filed,    7               5
Expedited
Trademark Application-As-Filed,   17              10
Regular
Trademark Related File Wrapper    25              42*
Trademark Assignments             10               8
Trademark Registration,            5               5
Expedited
Trademark Registration, Regular   14               6

* Includes turnaround times for files on official search and file
reconstruction.

During the month of March 1999, a total of 10,698 orders (19,832
copies) were filled and closed, or 403 orders more (1,427 copies less)
than the FY-99 planning number of 10,295 orders (21,259 copies) to be
closed for this month. The fiscal year-to-date totals for both orders
and copies filled are on target. The average turnaround times for
products remain in expected ranges.

Due to varying availability of media, customers will not be advised
when orders are not delivered within the published goal periods.
However, customers will be advised if any unexpected delay in their
order has been identified. Customers should use the above actual days to
mail for each product as a guide as to when they can expect their
orders. In determining expected delivery times, the day an order is
received in the Office is calculated as "day zero." The next business
day is "day one."

Delivery of any specific copy will vary based on the
availability of scanned images, microfilm products, and/or file
accessibility. On June 10, 1997, the Office published an Official
Gazette Notice entitled "Changes in Practice in Supplying Certified
Copies and Filing Receipts" (1199 OG 39) which advised customers who
place orders for certified copies of patent applications-as-filed not to
request them until the official filing receipt is received; images and
related bibliographic data are not available to Certification Division
until the filing receipt is generated by the Office of Initial Patent
Examination.

Customers are encouraged to fax orders for copies directly to
Certification Division at (703) 308-9759 and to pay by PTO Deposit
Account, MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover. Information on
the status of pending orders may be obtained by calling (703) 308-9726
or 1 (800) 972-6382 (outside the Washington, DC Metro area), or via
E-mail: certdiv@uspto.gov.

April 9, 1999                                              WESLEY H. GEWEHR
                                              Administrator for Information
                                                              Dissemination