Category: PCT

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Sign up for EPO webinar: PCT for US paralegals and patent agents

If you are a PCT user, you need to register for a webinar which EPO will present on May 9, 2023.  You can read about it, and you can register, here.

The webinar will take place starting at 10AM Mountain Time on Tuesday, May 9.  The webinar is free of charge.

The European Patent Office (EPO) is offering a 1½-hour online seminar for US paralegals and agents dedicated to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This seminar is an opportunity to find out more about the services provided by the EPO and the latest developments in the PCT system as well as getting practical information on the related EPO’s online services.  Topics to be discussed include:

    • PCT procedure before the EPO as International Authority including practical examples
    • Payments and Reimbursement
    • New secure online access
    • Online filing possibilities
    • Electronic Mailbox for PCT agents/applicants
    • Questions & Answers

I think that for most US attendees, the most interesting topic will be EPO’s upcoming enhancements and improvements to its “electronic mailbox” system.  This is the system that permits the applicant to receive ISA/EP and IPEA/EP communications instantly rather than having to wait for such communications to arrive via postal mail.  This includes things like the ISR/WO and an Invitation to Pay Additional Fees.

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Five more ePCT webinars available for signup

Many readers have signed up for the first eight webinars about ePCT.  (Details here.)  Now I have scheduled dates for five more of the webinars.  Here are the dates and times, and here are the links to register:

    • Webinar 9.  Thursday, April 27, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Filing a new US PCT application in RO/IB using ePCT.  Click to register.
    • Webinar 10.  Tuesday, May 2, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  ePCT actions and communications with the IB.  Click to register.
    • Webinar 11.  Thursday, May 11, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  External signatures and PCT declarations.  Click to register.
    • Webinar 12.  Thursday, May 18, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Sequence listings and ePCT.  Click to register.
    • Webinar 13.  Thursday, June 1, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Docketing of PCT applications and making use of ePCT notifications.  Click to register.  Suggested companion purchase.
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Time of day at the IB returns to normal for US filers

Two weeks ago I blogged (see blog posting) that US filers filing PCT applications in RO/IB needed to pay extra close attention to what time it is in Switzerland.  (And it was the same for e-filers in the Madrid Protocol system.)  The reason is that in the US, Daylight Saving Time happened on March 12.  But did not happen on that day in Switzerland.  This meant that for the past two weeks, a US-based filer in (for example) the Mountain Time zone would be able to e-file in RO/IB as late as 5PM and still get a same-day filing date.  This differed from the usual drop-dead time of 4PM.

Today (March 26, 2023) is the day that Daylight Saving Time happens in Switzerland.  The consequence of this is that the time difference between the US filer’s time zone and the time in RO/IB is back to normal.  So for a US-based filer in the Mountain Time zone, the drop-dead time returns today to the usual 4PM.

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Paralegals! Try to get your attorneys to sign up for this webinar

This blog article is directed to paralegals and legal assistants and secretaries and administrative assistants.

I am going to make a stab-in-the-dark guess that at least one of your attorney bosses is avoiding learning about ePCT because they want to assume that you will be the one who keeps on top of knowing how to use ePCT.  Continue reading “Paralegals! Try to get your attorneys to sign up for this webinar”

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Which ePCT webinars are most popular as of today?

Here is the ranking as of today, from most registrations down to fewest registrations, for the next eight ePCT webinars:

  • 323 signups.  Thursday, March 16, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Making sure your US priority documents are available to DAS, best practices for filing US priority documents, Certificates of Availability, setting up alerts.  Click to register.
  • 309 signups.  Thursday, April 20, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Filing a new US PCT application in RO/US using ePCT.  Click to register.
  • 298 signups.  Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Getting to know your ePCT workbench, portfolios, office profiles, cloning, ePCT actions.  Click to register.
  • 292 signups.  Thursday, March 2, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Intro to ePCT, why ePCT is important, getting a user ID and password, setting up 2FA.  Click to register.
  • 278 signups.  Thursday, March 23, 2023, 11AM Mountain Time.  Handshakes, eOwners, eEditors, eViewers, access rights groups, employee first day of work, employee last day of work.  Click to register.
  • 271 signups.  Thursday, March 9, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time. Why attorneys need to learn about ePCT, why you cannot simply delegate stuff to support staff.  Click to register.
  • 264 signups.  Thursday, April 13, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Getting pending PCT applications into your workbench, going back to January 1, 2009, archiving old applications.  Click to register.
  • 264 signups.   Thursday, March 30, 2023, 10AM Mountain Time.  Shared address books, collaborative workflow, sharing with clients, sharing with outside counsel.  Click to register.