Why the smart US filers are filing in RO/IB this weekend

Many US patent filers always file their PCT applications in RO/US, and many US patent filers don’t know how to file a PCT application anywhere else (such as RO/IB).  But during the four-day period from March 14 to March 17, smart US patent filers are filing their PCT applications in RO/IB using ePCT rather than RO/US using EFS-Web.

Continue reading “Why the smart US filers are filing in RO/IB this weekend”

Does the USPTO give you the same examiner as in the PCT?

(Updated to reflect that Forty-two patent practitioners have asked Director Vidal to make it so.  See blog post and update below.)

A member of the PCT Listserv asks “does USPTO give you the same Examiner in a US national application and in the corresponding PCT application?”  This is a very interesting question and has several sub-questions to it. Continue reading “Does the USPTO give you the same examiner as in the PCT?”