Readers will recall (perhaps from my blog post of October 13) that the search fee for ISA/EP will increase (for US filers) on December 1, 2017. This offers an opportunity to save a little money. If your client is planning to file a PCT application in the next week or two, and is planning to pick ISA/EP, consider filing it on November 30 rather than December 1. This will save $139 in search fees.
Keeping track of time zones
A long time ago we had a special clock with four time zones. We correspond a lot with clients in China. And we often need to keep track of when it will be midnight at the USPTO or at WIPO. The four-zone clock helped us keep track of these things.
But the special clock was noisy. It clicked as the second hand advanced, and somehow the clicks really carried through the office. Not only that, but all four of the clock faces clicked and the clicks were never quite simultaneous across the four faces. So there were 240 clicks per minute. We eventually scrapped that clock.
Now we have a new four-zone clock as you can see in the photograph. The clocks are silent. And the clocks synchronize their time with WWV.
Two of the clocks (the two in the middle) automatically update themselves for Daylight Saving Time. The one on the right will require manual adjustment four times per year (see blog article).
Design filing receipts from USPTO in a mere two days!
We filed a bunch of new design patent applications in the USPTO this past Tuesday the 14th.
I am astonished (in a good way) to see that USPTO has mailed Filing Receipts for two of the design applications today, the 16th.
In a quarter of a century of interaction with the USPTO as a registered practitioner, I have never seen a filing receipt arrive in a mere two days. Until today, and today it happened in two cases.
(That’s the good news. The bad news is that in each of these cases the FOAP is 44 months. More than three and a half years, it seems, that we will have to wait for the cases to be examined.)
Have others been receiving Filing Receipts this quick? I wonder if we are just lucky somehow, or if this is a (welcome) recent trend at the USPTO. Please post a comment below.
Imminent opportunities to learn about ePCT
The first of four webinars about ePCT will take place starting in about eight hours. Here are the dates and topics: Continue reading “Imminent opportunities to learn about ePCT”
Brazil will soon join DAS
On December 1, 2017, Brazil will join the DAS system. Brazil’s participation will be as a “depositing Office”. Here is an example of how this participation will benefit patent applicants. Continue reading “Brazil will soon join DAS”
Why does the USPTO not “auto-acknowledge” Section 15 trademark declarations?
Why does the USPTO not “auto-acknowledge” Section 15 trademark declarations? Why does it take the USPTO an average of 37 days to do something that should take around ten seconds to do? Continue reading “Why does the USPTO not “auto-acknowledge” Section 15 trademark declarations?”
Attorney client privilege and the US patent process
In a refreshing bit of clarity, the USPTO published a final rule yesterday settling the status of persons who represent clients before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Continue reading “Attorney client privilege and the US patent process”
Webinars to learn about ePCT
Those who handle pending US patent applications are well aware that it is impossible to carry out one’s work competently without knowing how to use Private PAIR to view pending US patent applications and to check the status of such applications. Likewise one needs to know how to use EFS-Web to file new patent applications and to file follow-on papers.
ePCT is the mechanism for viewing pending PCT applications and for checking the status of such applications. ePCT is an important part of the filing of new PCT patent applications and is a crucial part of the filing of follow-on papers in PCT applications.
It is thus extremely important to learn how to use ePCT. ePCT is extraordinarily feature rich. Here are four webinars which together will explore the 20% or so of the ePCT features which you will use 80% of the time. Continue reading “Webinars to learn about ePCT”
Time returns to normal for WIPO filings
As I reported a week ago, the usual autumn thing happened with time zones. A week ago Europe “fell back” with daylight saving time.
Now today the US also “fell back”.
For the past week, US filers had an extra hour available to get a same-day filing date for filings at WIPO. A US filer could file as late as 5PM (Mountain Time) instead of the usual 4PM, and get a same-day filing date.
Now it is back to normal. The time of day to keep in mind is once again 4PM Mountain Time.
Search fee for ISA/RU to increase December 6
The search fee paid by US filers of PCT applications for the Russian searching authority will increase on December 6, 2017 from $482 to $698. You can see the details here.
This changes slightly the ranking by cost of the various searching authorities available to filers in RO/US. Here is how the search fees will rank after the fee change of December 6:
- EP – $2238
- US – $2080
- AU – $1688
- SG – $1552
- JP – $1372
- KR – $1114
- US – $1040 (small entity)
- IL – $963
- RU – $698
- US – $520 (micro entity)
The result of this fee change is that, for the first time in a very long time, the Russian patent office will not be the least expensive searching authority for PCT filers in RO/US. ISA/US will be the least expensive (but only for a filer that qualifies for micro entity status).
Filers in RO/US tend to pick ISA/EP, ISA/US, or ISA/KR. It is relatively rare that a US filer will pick ISA/RU (or ISA/AU, ISA/IL, ISA/JP, or ISA/SG). Nonetheless, for the US filer who is planning to file a PCT application in which ISA/RU is selected, there will be an opportunity to save a little money. The filer could file on December 5 rather than December 6, and the savings would be $216.