Status of Document Delivery Services
The Office of Public Records (OPR) processes and fills orders for both
certified and uncertified copies of Patent and Trademark Office
documents. This is an update of actual processing time for orders filled
during the month of July 1999:
Certified Documents Goal Actual
Processing
Time
Patent Application-As-Filed,
Expedited 7 days 7 days
Patent Application-As-Filed,
Regular 17 days 9 days
Patent Related File Wrapper 25 days 48 days*
Patent Copy 10 days 7 days
Patent Assignments 10 days 10 days
Trademark Application-As-
Filed, Expedited 7 days 7 days
Trademark Application-As-
Filed, Regular 17 days 12 days
Trademark Related File
Wrapper 25 days 13 days*
Trademark Assignments 10 days 13 days
Trademark Registration,
Expedited 5 days 5 days
Trademark Registration,
Regular 14 days 11 days
Uncertified Documents
Express Patent Copies 3 hours 4 hours
Special Patent Copies 24 hours 24 hours
Regular Patent Copies 3 days 3 days
Plant Patents 3 days 4 days
Patent Assignments 10 days 6 days
Patent Related File Wrapper 25 days 41 days*
Express Trademark Copies 3 hours 3 hours
Special Trademark Copies 24 hours 24 hours
Regular Trademark Copies 3 days 3 days
Trademark Assignments 10 days 5 days
Trademark Related File
Wrappers 25 days 23 days*
* Includes turnaround times for files on official search and file
reconstruction.
During the month of July 1999, a total of 22,659 orders (33,562 copies)
were filled and closed, or 3,969 orders more (22,508 copies less) than
the FY-99 planning number of 18,690 orders (56,070 copies) to be closed
for this month. The fiscal year-to-date totals for both orders and
copies filled are at about 65% of the expected workload. 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
Dissemination Support 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.
August 12, 1999 WESLEY H. GEWEHR
Administrator for Information
Dissemination