To improve the tracking and disposition of amendments and requests for corrections to trademark applications submitted after publication, the Office is providing the following recommended procedures. Once an application has been “approved for publication” by the examining attorney, all amendments and requests for corrections are processed as amendments/corrections after publication. You can determine the status of your application and whether or not it has been “approved for publication” or “published for Opposition” by entering the serial number in the Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) database at http://tarr.uspto.gov/ .
Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the information concerning their application in the TARR database and as published in the Official Gazette at
http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/ . Upon review of the information concerning your application, any requests for an amendment/correction should be faxed to Post Publication Amendments/Corrections at 571-270-9007 to ensure that they become part of the record for the relevant application. Requests to correct minor typographical errors entered by the USPTO, inquiries regarding the procedure for submitting a post-publication amendment, or questions regarding the status of a post-publication amendment can be e-mailed to TM Post Pub Query@uspto.gov.
All post-publications amendments/corrections should be submitted no later than 6 weeks after the publication date to insure that the amendment/correction can be considered prior to the issuance of the notice of allowance or registration certificate. The TM Photocomp mailbox is no longer available for submission of amendments or requests for corrections after publication. The procedure has been changed to ensure that the requested amendment is matched with the proper application, uploaded into the database, and reviewed in a timely manner.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
USPTO to Eliminate the Disclosure Document Program
Washington, D.C. – The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will eliminate its Disclosure Document Program on February 1, 2007. The USPTO implemented the Disclosure Document Program in 1969 to provide inventors not ready to file for a patent with an alternative method of establishing the date of conception of an invention. In the United States, priority for a patent goes to the person who is first to invent rather than to the person who is first to file a patent application. The date of conception is important in establishing who the first inventor is in the event another inventor applies for a patent for the same invention.
Under the Disclosure Document Program, the USPTO accepts, dates and retains for two years documents from inventors describing their inventions as evidence of the date the inventions were conceived. Very few inventors have used the Disclosure Document Program as part of the patent process, and some inventors who do use it erroneously believe that they are filing an application for a patent. In the over 3 million patents issued since 1976, only 1,330 (or 0.04%) reference a disclosure document.
Since 1995, inventors not ready to file a full patent application have been able to file a provisional patent application with the USPTO. A provisional application provides more benefits and protections to inventors than the disclosure document. A provisional patent application establishes a filing date and allows the term “patent pending” to be applied to the invention. A provisional application must contain a full disclosure of the invention, including drawings where necessary, and a cover sheet identifying the inventor(s). To maintain the priority date, a formal patent application for the invention must be filed with the USPTO within one year. A disclosure document is not an application for a patent and does not provide any benefits beyond establishing a conception date.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/notices/71fr64636.pdf[PDF Viewer].
Under the Disclosure Document Program, the USPTO accepts, dates and retains for two years documents from inventors describing their inventions as evidence of the date the inventions were conceived. Very few inventors have used the Disclosure Document Program as part of the patent process, and some inventors who do use it erroneously believe that they are filing an application for a patent. In the over 3 million patents issued since 1976, only 1,330 (or 0.04%) reference a disclosure document.
Since 1995, inventors not ready to file a full patent application have been able to file a provisional patent application with the USPTO. A provisional application provides more benefits and protections to inventors than the disclosure document. A provisional patent application establishes a filing date and allows the term “patent pending” to be applied to the invention. A provisional application must contain a full disclosure of the invention, including drawings where necessary, and a cover sheet identifying the inventor(s). To maintain the priority date, a formal patent application for the invention must be filed with the USPTO within one year. A disclosure document is not an application for a patent and does not provide any benefits beyond establishing a conception date.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/notices/71fr64636.pdf[PDF Viewer].
USPTO and the European Patent Office To Launch Electronic Priority Document Exchange
The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) announced on Thursday that they are preparing to launch a new service that will allow patent application priority documents to be exchanged between the two offices electronically. Priority documents have to be filed when applicants wish to claim an earlier application filing date in one patent office based on a prior filing in another. Claiming priority is a valuable tool for businesses wanting to pursue patent rights globally. The new service, which will be free of charge to applicants, is the result of a 2005 agreement between the USPTO and the EPO and will pave the way for faster and more efficient processing in each office.
Under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, a treaty that provides a number of important rights for innovators, a patent applicant may file an application in one Paris Convention member country (the priority document), and within 12 months, file corresponding applications in other member countries, while obtaining the benefit of the first application’s filing date. This 12-month period allows applicants to make important decisions about where to file subsequent applications to seek protection for their inventions. Paris Convention filings are a critical component in many applicants’ global business and patenting strategies and represent a substantial portion of worldwide patent activity. In order to obtain the benefit of an earlier filing, however, applicants are generally required to file paper copies of the priority document in each of the later-filing offices at their own expense. The new service will allow the USPTO and the EPO to obtain, with appropriate permissions, electronic copies of priority documents filed with the other office from its electronic records management system at no cost to the applicant.
“Electronic priority document exchange is a big win for both applicants and our offices,” said Under Secretary of Commerce and USPTO Director Jon Dudas. “By leveraging our electronic file management systems, we can streamline our internal processing while providing our applicants with the substantial benefits of reduced expenses and paperwork.”
“The realization of the electronic priority document exchange is a major step towards a user-oriented, efficient patent system and a good example of the excellent cooperation between the EPO and the USPTO,” added EPO President Alain Pompidou. “It sets the standards for providing added value services in the future.”
Testing of the new service will be complete in early December, and full production is expected to begin in January 2007. Further details will be made available by each office prior to full production
Under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, a treaty that provides a number of important rights for innovators, a patent applicant may file an application in one Paris Convention member country (the priority document), and within 12 months, file corresponding applications in other member countries, while obtaining the benefit of the first application’s filing date. This 12-month period allows applicants to make important decisions about where to file subsequent applications to seek protection for their inventions. Paris Convention filings are a critical component in many applicants’ global business and patenting strategies and represent a substantial portion of worldwide patent activity. In order to obtain the benefit of an earlier filing, however, applicants are generally required to file paper copies of the priority document in each of the later-filing offices at their own expense. The new service will allow the USPTO and the EPO to obtain, with appropriate permissions, electronic copies of priority documents filed with the other office from its electronic records management system at no cost to the applicant.
“Electronic priority document exchange is a big win for both applicants and our offices,” said Under Secretary of Commerce and USPTO Director Jon Dudas. “By leveraging our electronic file management systems, we can streamline our internal processing while providing our applicants with the substantial benefits of reduced expenses and paperwork.”
“The realization of the electronic priority document exchange is a major step towards a user-oriented, efficient patent system and a good example of the excellent cooperation between the EPO and the USPTO,” added EPO President Alain Pompidou. “It sets the standards for providing added value services in the future.”
Testing of the new service will be complete in early December, and full production is expected to begin in January 2007. Further details will be made available by each office prior to full production
Monday, November 13, 2006
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