It is embarrassing to see the USPTO trying to conceal its “blink” on Patent Center that happened on November 7, 2023.
On September 20, 2023 the USPTO announced that November 8, 2023 was the date upon which the USPTO would shut down the trusted PAIR and EFS-Web systems, leaving users with only the buggy Patent Center system. (See screen shot at right.) This news was communicated in an official USPTO press release number 23-16.
The patent community asked nicely for the USPTO to postpone the shutdown of PAIR and EFS-Web, and when this did not work, the patent community tried harder to bring about a postponement (see blog article). The USPTO did eventually blink on the shutdown, but rather predictably waited until the eleventh hour to blink (see blog article).
What is embarrassing is to see the USPTO trying to conceal the “blink”. Some time after November 7, 2023, the USPTO quietly altered press release number 23-16, dated September 20, 2023. The altered press release falsely represents that on September 20, 2023, the USPTO supposedly gave November 15, 2023 as the shutdown date for PAIR and EFS-Web. (The truth, as shown by the screen shot above, is that on September 20, 2023, the USPTO gave November 8, 2023 as the shutdown date.)
One alert reader has asked whether such alteration violates 36 CFR § 1230 et seq. (Unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records).
Just go to the web archives to see the previous/original press release.
It’s a shame the USPTO is trying to rewrite history. They got caught.
http://web.archive.org/web/20231010060315/https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/patent-center-fully-replace-uspto-legacy-system-filing-and-managing-patent
Could this be tied to incentives for SteamP*nk, the “software” company that did this project, a company with surprising ties to the military & Homeland Security (based on their unique Board of Directors), if the deadline for launch is met? Or could it be related to internal USPTO bonuses for meeting the announced launch date? Or is the subterfuge much more innocent?