I have given quite a bit of thought to ways that a patent applicant or practitioner might be able to avoid the profound malpractice risk of filing in Microsoft Word (DOCX) format when filing a patent application. As of right now I have thought of two ways. Maybe there are more ways. Continue reading “Ways to avoid having to pay USPTO’s $400 non-DOCX penalty”
See the new version of the PCT Applicant’s Guide
Hello, PCT enthusiasts. Today WIPO has placed into service its new version of the PCT Applicant’s Guide. (WIPO has dubbed today’s new version as “the eGuide“.) You can see it here. Importantly, the legacy version of the Applicant’s Guide is still available. You can see it here. Continue reading “See the new version of the PCT Applicant’s Guide”
How to get the “+Request PCT Link” button
I posted a few days ago (blog article) that the EPO had set up a way for users of ISA/EP and IPEA/EP to receive correspondence (such as International Search Reports and Written Opinions) instantly and electronically, which might for some users be preferable to having to wait a long time for such correspondence to show up in slow postal mail. In that posting I described my own lack of success in setting up such things, particularly because an important button called “+Request PCT Link” was missing in the EPO system. I have heard back from the EPO people about this. It turns out you have to ask for this button. In today’s blog article I offer more information about this new system, that I have heard from the EPO people. Continue reading “How to get the “+Request PCT Link” button”
EPO’s new system for PCT applicants to receive ISR/WOs electronically
(Update: there is news about how to get the elusive “+Request PCT Link” button — see blog article.)
(Update: EPO people have provided a summary page about how to do this ISA/EP and IPEA/EP stuff, that is linked here and that I have archived here.)
PCT applicants who are located outside of Europe, and who pick ISA/EP as their ISA, have for some years now faced a frustrating situation: ISA/EP only sends out its communications by postal mail, not electronically. A couple of days ago I attended a webinar presented by four nice people at the EPO, in which they explained how their new system will work that will permit applicants to receive International Search Reports and Written Opinions (and other ISA communications) electronically instead of on paper. This article briefly summarizes my notes from that webinar. Continue reading “EPO’s new system for PCT applicants to receive ISR/WOs electronically”
Sign up for tomorrow’s EPO webinar on PCT
(Update: the webinar took place and I have written an article about it.)
Well, folks, maybe you knew about this imminent webinar a long time ago, but somehow I only learned about it today. You know how you hate it that EPO only sends ISR/WOs out by postal mail? Not electronically? Well, I gather EPO intends to drag itself into the previous decade and plans to provide some electronic way to receive your ISR/WOs.
Yes, an extremely important webinar will take place about 24 hours from now. Yes, I am giving you a mere 24 hours’ advance notice on this one. Sorry about that. Continue reading “Sign up for tomorrow’s EPO webinar on PCT”
Getting a prompt Filing Receipt in a 371 case?
In the community of US practitioners who regularly enter the US national phase from a PCT application, it is a well-known problem that it takes an unreasonably long time for the USPTO to mail out a Filing Receipt. There is, I am sorry to say, a dirty little secret way to get prompt filing receipt in such cases. Normally I do not make use of it, but just now I plan to use it in one of my cases. Continue reading “Getting a prompt Filing Receipt in a 371 case?”
US filers and filing at WIPO and daylight saving time
Keep in mind that most locations in the US will turn off daylight saving time today (November 6, 2022), but today is not the day that Switzerland will turn off daylight saving time. (Switzerland turned off DST a week ago.)
Those who are filing documents at the International Bureau — documents that need a same-day filing date — should check to make sure they know what time it is in Switzerland as of today.
The main point here is that for a US filer, everything is now “back to normal”. Whatever time zone offset a US filer is accustomed to between his or her time zone and Geneva, that offset is back to normal.
ePCT will tell you what time it is in Switzerland.
Which ePCT topics you want me to teach sooner than others!
Yesterday I posted a blog article asking readers to let me know which ePCT topics they want me to teach sooner than other topics. I listed fifteen topics. I provided a very long and tedious questionnaire by which readers could indicate their personal rankings of the fifteen topics, as “urgent” or “average urgency” or “not urgent”. Fifty-four readers responded, for which I am quite grateful. Here you can see what they said: Continue reading “Which ePCT topics you want me to teach sooner than others!”
Which ePCT topics do you want me to teach sooner than others?
Update! You can see the results here.
Hello dear readers. How time flies! It was a mere ¾ of a year ago that I announced (blog article) my plans to teach fifteen webinars on ePCT topics (as distinguished from PCT topics). Now I really plan to get moving on these webinars. I should mention that these webinars will be free of charge, thanks to sponsorship from WIPO. Now what I ask is that readers please tell me which ePCT topics they want me to teach sooner than others. Continue reading “Which ePCT topics do you want me to teach sooner than others?”
Daylight saving time and WIPO
Keep in mind that Switzerland will turn off daylight saving time today, October 30, 2022. Those who are filing documents at the International Bureau — documents that need a same-day filing date — should check to make sure they know what time it is in Switzerland as of today.
For US filers, keep in mind that the US will not turn off DST today. The US will turn off DST a week from now, on November 6, 2022.
US filers who are getting ready to file a document at the IB should thus pay close attention during this next week to what time it is in Switzerland.
Most readers of my blog will appreciate that the correct terminology is not “Daylight Savings Time” but “Daylight Saving Time”.
The practical effect for most US filers is that for the next week, you get an extra hour to e-file. For example if you are in the Mountain Time Zone, normally you rush to file by 4PM if need a same-day filing date at the IB. But for the next week you can file as late as 5PM and you will still get a same-day filing date at the IB.