It will be recalled (blog article, May 30, 2023) that on May 28, 203, the USPTO had posted a false statement on the USPTO web site. The USPTO said:
The USPTO strongly recommends submitting Specification, Claims, and/or Abstract in DOCX format which provides better data accuracy.
On May 29, a listserv member posted the question “Isn’t this false advertising or improper legal advice?” and a few hours later, the false statement disappeared from the USPTO web site.
Now on June 19, 2023, the false statement has quietly returned to the USPTO web site. Quoted above is a screen shot taken on June 19, 2023 from USPTO’s Patentcenter web site.
It is false to say that “submitting Specification, Claims, and/or Abstract in DOCX format … provides better data accuracy.” There are many reasons why this is so, one of which is discussed in this blog article dated June 20, 2023. Still more reasons why this is so are discussed in Oppedahl, Carl, The Fool’s Errand that is DOCX (December 27, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4346907 or https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4346907.
Thank you and your firm, for standing up to the USPTO on its affront to the inventors and IP professionals. Good job.