USPTO to begin issuing certificates of correction electronically beginning on January 30, 2024

Beginning on January 30, 2024, the USPTO will start issuing certificates of correction in a paperless, electronic format. The electronically issued certificates of correction will be immediately available to view online using the USPTO Patent Center upon the issuance of the patent itself. Electronic certificates of correction will be issued regardless of whether the patent has already issued electronically, or in paper format.

Until January 30, 2024, certificates of correction will continue to be issued in paper format and mailed via post to the correspondence address on record for the patent. After the paper certificate of correction is issued, a scanned image of the paper certificate of correction is entered into the file wrapper and added to the image of the patent in the patent database. Additionally, the patent number corresponding to the certificate of correction is published in the Official Gazette.

If you have any questions regarding certificates of correction, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

USPTO: Notice of upcoming DOCX filing fee date of January 17, 2024

The USPTO recently announced its intention to move forward with the implementation of the $400 USD fee for filing specifications and claims in non-DOCX format on January 17, 2024. While it may be possible that the USPTO will extend the deadline again, it appears more likely than not that the USPTO will not extend this deadline any further.

This filing fee applies to all non-provisional applications and continuing applications, but it is important to note that this fee does not apply to drawings, national stage applications, design applications, and provisional applications, which can still be filed in PDF format without incurring the surcharge.

If your organization has not made a decision about whether or not to transition to filing in the DOCX format, we encourage you to make a decision soon in order to prepare for the implementation of the non-DOCX filing fee.

If you have any questions or require more information, please do not hesitate to contact our office.