It’s that time of year again. People in the US who sometimes e-file stuff at the International Bureau at WIPO will have memorized exactly what the local time is that works out to being midnight in Switzerland … and for the next three weeks, the answer to this question will be different from the usual answer. Continue reading “e-filing at WIPO – you get an extra hour”
Locarno classes are by now fashionable
What are Locano classes? What do I mean when I say that Locarno classes are by now fashionable?
Register now for Design Day 2019
You will recall that back on January 13, 2019 I told you to save the date, namely Thursday, April 25.
Registration is now open for Design Day 2019. This will be at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia.
This event always sells out weeks in advance. If you want to attend, you need to register right away.
To learn more, or to register, click here.
Yours truly is among the members of the planning committee for Design Day 2019. I can promise you that it will be a good use of your time to attend.
Today is a snow day at the USPTO
Today, Wednesday, February 20, 2019 is a snow day. This means that any document that you needed to file today at the USPTO will be timely if you file it by tomorrow, Thursday, February 21.
(This might be as good a time as any to subscribe to this blog.)
Update: Status of ID5 Offices in DAS
Let’s remind ourselves how the five biggest Offices for industrial design protection (called “ID5”) are coming along in terms of participation in the DAS system. It is recalled that the DAS system permits the exchange and retrieval of electronic certified copies of priority documents. So which Offices are trendy, modern, and up-to-date? Which of the ID5 Offices have not yet joined DAS for designs? Continue reading “Update: Status of ID5 Offices in DAS”
Please USPTO no more foot-dragging on retrieving certified copies from DAS
(Update: A letter got sent on February 22, 2020 to the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO, asking the USPTO to stop its foot-dragging on retrieval of electronic certified copies from DAS. See blog post.)
The other day I taught another webinar about PDX and DAS. And the usual gripe about the USPTO came up — why does USPTO actively age the DAS retrieval attempts? Why doesn’t USPTO simply suck it up and carry out the retrieval of an electronic certified copy when asked to do so?
I blogged about this in 2014, urging the USPTO stop the aging of such requests. Now in 2019 the USPTO continues its policy of aging the retrieval attempts. So now, dear reader, you are treated to another rant. Continue reading “Please USPTO no more foot-dragging on retrieving certified copies from DAS”
Design Day 2019
I have it on good authority that Design Day 2019 will take place on Thursday, April 25. This will be at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia.
So save the date!
USPTO will be closed Monday January 14, 2019
The USPTO will be closed on Monday, January 14, 2019 because of a dusting of snow. (OPM announcement.)
The small amount of snow giving rise to this closure would not even be noticed in other parts of the US such as the high altitudes of Colorado where Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC is located. (Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC will be open as usual on Monday, January 14, 2019.)
The closing of the USPTO means that any response that would be due on Monday, January 14, 2019 will be considered timely if it is filed by Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
WIPO DAS portal now functions for US designs
I am delighted to be able to report that the WIPO DAS portal now functions as it should for US designs.
This raises many questions, which I will try to answer:
- What do you mean it “now functions”? Did it not function before?
- As a design practitioner in the US, should I perhaps be a bit embarrassed that I had not noticed that it was not functioning before?
- As a design practitioner outside the US, should I perhaps be a bit embarrassed that I had not noticed that it was not functioning before?
- Okay I give up. What exactly is the WIPO DAS portal, what is its connection with US designs, and why do I need to know about it?
Finally, what is there about this WIPO DAS portal that would protect me, as a practitioner in an Office of Second Filing, from a risk of professional liability due to a lost priority claim due to failure to timely provide a certified copy? Yes, I call this “the single most important point in this blog article“. If you would like to eliminate this particular category of risk to yourself when handling such filings, then scroll down to the place in the article where I discuss this.
Continue reading “WIPO DAS portal now functions for US designs”
Today is the day – USPTO pulls the plug on PDX with respect to Korean patent office
As I blogged here, today is the day that USPTO has pulled the plug on PDX in connection with KIPO (the Korean patent office).
For US design filers whose cases claim priority from Korean cases, this is welcome news. Simply use Form PTO/SB/38 to ask USPTO to retrieve your electronic certified copy from the KIPO. Be sure to include the DAS access code provided to you by Korean counsel.
For any US case claiming priority from a Korean utility or design application, the Best Practice nowadays is to set up an “alert” in DAS for the application, and to obtain a Certificate of Availability in DAS for that application, all the while checking that US is listed among the Offices to which the application is available.
Can you pass the DAS quiz?
Now what remains is for USPTO to do the same (pulling the plug) for the PDX relationship with EPO.
Starting now, when you as US counsel send instructions to Korean counsel to file utility or design cases claiming priority from your US cases, be sure to pass along the DAS access code (which is the PAIR confirmation code). Also set up an “alert” in DAS for the US priority application, and also send a Certificate of Availability to Korean counsel.
Starting now, when Korean counsel sends instructions to you to file utility or design cases in the US that are claiming priority from Korean cases, Korean counsel should pass along the DAS access code. Korean counsel should also send a Certificate of Availability to you.