Author: Carl

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Learn how to receive ISA/EP correspondence electronically rather than by postal mail


(Update:  Now in 2026 the EPO is even more user-friendly about communications from ISA/EP and IPEA/US.  See blog article.)

Do you sometimes pick ISA/EP when you file a PCT application?  Is it a source of frustration that the communications from ISA/EP arrive only slowly, via postal mail, rather than electronically?  Would you like to learn how to set things up with an electronic EPO mailbox so that you can receive your ISA/EP communications electronically instead of by slow postal mail?  Continue reading “Learn how to receive ISA/EP correspondence electronically rather than by postal mail”

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USPTO breaks its promise about protecting “where you sleep at night” domicile addresses

The USPTO sent out email messages today reporting what it calls a “Data Security Incident”.  It turns out that the USPTO, which promised it would keep the “where you sleep at night” domicile addresses of trademark applicants safe and secure, instead revealed all of the “where you sleep at night” addresses in all of the USPTO’s APIs and bulk data products by which data miners collect data from the USPTO, over a period stretching from February of 2020 to March of 2023.

Astonishingly, CIO Jamie Holcombe tells us that he “fixed” the problem.  Continue reading “USPTO breaks its promise about protecting “where you sleep at night” domicile addresses”

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GM follows Ford in partnering with Tesla supercharger network

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General Motors announced today that it will partner with the Tesla supercharging network.  This comes on the heels of Ford’s announcement of a couple of weeks ago that it had done so.

You can see a blog article in a writing style much like mine that talks about these developments.   It predicts that more US EV makers will follow suit.  As time goes on, fewer and fewer cars will use the big, awkward, heavy CCS1 plug for fast charging, if this blog article turns out to be correct.

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Time to file comments on DOCX yet again

(Update:  nine comments got filed.)

This has been a busy week for Federal Register notices by the USPTO that relate to the ill-fated DOCX patent application filing initiative.  We already knew about two Federal Register notices about this:

    • 88 FR 36956 dated June 6, 2023, blinking a fourth time on the start date for the $400 non-DOCX penalty, and
    • 88 FR 37036 dated June 6, 2023 blinking a second time on the ending date for the ability to file an “auxiliary PDF” file by which the applicant may try to protect against USPTO errors in rendering DOCX files.

Now comes a third Federal Register notice:

    • 88 FR 37039 dated June 6, 2023, requesting comments on USPTO’s estimates of the burden that the DOCX application filing initative will impose upon applicants.

In this blog article I briefly discuss this third FR notice.  In a later blog article I will discuss this third FR notice in greater detail.  Continue reading “Time to file comments on DOCX yet again”

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USPTO blinks a second time on auxiliary PDF with DOCX filing

(Corrected as to the name of the movie.)

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, says a beloved song in the movie Mary Poppins.  In the case of the ill-conceived DOCX initiative at the USPTO, the spoonful of sugar offered by the USPTO to try to induce filers to swallow the bitter-tasting DOCX initiative has been what it calls the “auxiliary PDF”.   The USPTO has now blinked for a second time on the auxiliary PDF.  Continue reading “USPTO blinks a second time on auxiliary PDF with DOCX filing”

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Recordings of many recent ePCT webinars are now available

I am by now part way through a series of sixteen webinars about the ePCT system.  Thirteen of the webinars have been presented, and there are three more webinars that you can register for (click here to register).  We were successful in recording the first thirteen webinars and the recordings have been edited into presentable form and have been posted for viewing.  So if you missed any of the first thirteen webinars, you can view the recording.  Here are the topics and links for viewing the thirteen recordings that have been posted so far. Continue reading “Recordings of many recent ePCT webinars are now available”

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A second false statement on the USPTO web site

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(Update June 20, 2023 — the false statement has returned to the USPTO web site — see blog article.)

Yesterday I reported (blog article) on a first false statement on the USPTO web site.  Here is a second false statement that appeared on the USPTO web site as recently as two days ago (screen shot above):

The USPTO strongly recommends submitting Specification, Claims, and/or Abstract in DOCX format which provides better data accuracy.

Continue reading “A second false statement on the USPTO web site”