These days if you enter the US national phase you can expect to wait at least three months for your Filing Receipt.
We try to track this kind of thing pretty closely in our active files. For a domestic filing receipt the delays these days are a mere 2-3 weeks. But if the filing receipt that you are waiting for is a DO/EO/US filing receipt, you will have to wait three months.
This three months is, these days, the “best case”. This assumes that you e-filed the case (not paper) and that you did not have any missing parts (no missing inventor declaration, no missing translation into English, no missing fees). This assumes that you provided not only an ADS but also a computer-readable ADS but not only that, you provided it in the first EFS-Web submission meaning that the bibliographic data auto-loaded into Palm. You also provided an Express Request for immediate national-phase entry if the other requirements were satisfied before the end of the 30 months. Put plainly, you did everything that you possibly could to make as easy as possible the work of the DO/EO/US person.
With all of this, the waiting time for a Filing Receipt these is three months.
If, however, you do anything that requires the DO/EO/US person to do actual work, like not having paid all of the fees, not having provided the inventor declaration, etc. then the waiting time for the Filing Receipt will be much longer.
How long are you having to wait for your US national phase Filing Receipts? Post a comment below.
9 Months from filing to filing receipt…
Wow nine months. My sympathies. Yes we have had some in recent times that took six months or even eight months. But we had not encountered nine months.
What I do not understand is when you file related 371s the same day and one is processed more quickly – filed three with same parts (missing parts),same applicant, similar inventors, same 30 month entry due date, national fee only, and got Notification of Missing Requirements for only one of the three about a month ago (within the 3-month timeframe). Still waiting to get anything on the other two.
We filed a 371 case in September 2017. STILL WAITING for our filing receipt. I have called to inquire about the outstanding filing receipt every month since March. Each person tells me they are looking into it but still haven’t received it. In fact, I called just yesterday about this particular case. All I want is the official filing receipt. From our review, everything should be in order.
Indeed, three months is currently the best you can hope for. Looking at a selection of national phase entries since 2017, only 30% have received a DO/EO/US filing receipt within three months – the average has been six months. The variability is significant, with one application taking 18 months to receive a filing receipt. All of this despite each application being filed in an identical manner and having taken all of the necessary steps to simplify the work of DO/EO/US personnel. What is particularly frustrating is that a PPH Petition has been granted in many of these application, but the “special” designation does nothing to expedite pre-exam processing.
I have one that just passed the five month mark. It was starting to concern me because I do not file too many 371 cases, but this blog entry is giving me some comfort. I assume that there is nothing that you can do, but wait.