As of September 7, 2018, Uganda is now a 30-month country. Said differently, the time limit for DO/UG is now 30 months. Continue reading “Uganda is now a 30-month country”
Are you a practitioner in Silicon Valley? Did you not receive this post card?
Recently I mailed post cards to nearly all of the people in Silicon Valley who are admitted to practice before the USPTO. This was about 4000 post cards.
By now, about 400 of these post cards have been returned to sender as undeliverable. Ten percent!
For each of these mailing addresses, it means the practitioner’s address with the Office of Enrollment and Discipline is undeliverable. As I flip quickly through this stack of several hundred returned cards, I see names of very well known law firms and very well known high-tech companies.
So the point of this post is that if you did not receive one of these post cards, you might want to look in the the OED database to see if your mailing address with the OED is out of date.
If you are located outside of Silicon Valley and you know someone who is a registered practitioner in Silicon Valley, you might want to ask them if they did not receive the post card, in which case they might want to look in the OED database to see if they need to update their address.
A new podcast series about the Patent Cooperation Treaty
I’ve started a podcast series about the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Thus far I have recorded three episodes. I’m guessing it will take about forty episodes to cover all of the things that I want to cover. I’m making these podcasts available free of charge. To make this work I have set up a podcast server which you can see here. Continue reading “A new podcast series about the Patent Cooperation Treaty”
A very handy new way to communicate with ISA/KR
If your PCT clients sometimes pick ISA/KR (the Korean Intellectual Property Office or KIPO), then you might like to learn about a very handy new way to communicate with ISA/KR.
The handy new way to communicate with ISA/KR is through ePCT, as I will describe. Continue reading “A very handy new way to communicate with ISA/KR”
EPO search fee just dropped for US filers
The search fee paid in US dollars by US filers for a PCT search carried out by the EPO dropped today. I first reported this to you on July 20, 2018 (blog article).
Previously $2207, it is now $2095.
An opportunity to save some money on PCT search fees
As I reported to you on July 20, 2018 (blog article), the search fee paid in US dollars by US filers for a PCT search carried out by the EPO will drop on September 1, 2018.
Presently $2207, it will soon drop to $2095.
This means that if you are getting ready to file a PCT application, and if you are a US filer, and if you are planning to select EPO as your ISA, and if you have the flexibility to postpone your filing date to September 1, 2018, you can save some money by doing so.
Filing a PCT application during the USPTO system crash
As a reminder, if the application that you are trying to file happens to be a PCT application, consider filing it at RO/IB instead of RO/US. In other words don’t try to use EFS-Web for filing your PCT application. Use ePCT to e-file it directly at the IB. Of course if the invention was made in the US, you will need an FFL (foreign filing license). Maybe the FFL that you already received in your US priority application will cover the PCT application. Also keep track of when it will be midnight in Switzerland (ePCT will tell you what time it is in Switzerland).
A chief benefit of using ePCT to e-file your PCT application in the RO/IB is that you will instantly be able to see what you just filed. You can see the contents of your PCT application in ePCT (just like what you would usually do in Private PAIR).
WIPO’s new Global IP Platform
WIPO is developing a new Global IP Platform or GIPP. The goal of the GIPP is to provide a personalized home page for a user of WIPO’s web site, with easy-to-find links to the various database and e-commerce systems provided by WIPO. The user can set up an array of widgets or tiles providing access to the particular databases and systems that are of interest to the user. Continue reading “WIPO’s new Global IP Platform”
Live in-person PCT Seminar in Redwood City, California in October
I will be teaching a live, in-person Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar October 16-18, 2018 in Redwood City, California.[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d12662.193970662394!2d-122.22871293619356!3d37.49497980044707!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x808fa257364cfbff%3A0xfa2b9aec28116101!2sCourtyard+by+Marriott+Redwood+City!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1533600727686&w=600&h=450]
For more information, or to register, click here.
How long USPTO takes to publish a 371 case
A colleague in Minneapolis asked me the other day how long it takes the USPTO to publish an entry into the US national phase.
MPEP § 1120(IV) says:
The projected publication date normally will be the later of: (1) eighteen months from the earliest filing date claimed; or (2) fourteen weeks from the mailing date of the filing receipt. The publication process takes about fourteen weeks.
I identified our most recent half dozen published patent applications that were entries into the US national phase. And another half dozen published patent applications from a year ago that were entries into the US national phase. And arrived at some average publication delays. It was nothing like fourteen weeks.
Continue reading “How long USPTO takes to publish a 371 case”