Patent Electronic Business Center Overview Revised 03/15/02

2 Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) Provides access to electronic business applications for patent customers É Customer Number Registration forms n Required for PAIR and EFS É Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Registration forms n Security software to support electronic commerce n Required for PAIR and EFS É Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) n Access to application status and history via the internet É Electronic Filing System (EFS) n Filing of patent applications via the internet

3 Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) How do I get there? Click on: Online Business Go to:

4 Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) Click on: Patent Electronic Business Center

5 Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) Click On: New Users Is this your first visit to the EBC?

6 United States Patent and Trademark Office Customer Number

7 What is a Customer Number? Customer Number Assigned to multiple patent applications Customer Number Address Single Multiple

8 Changing addresses using Customer Number Customer Number OLD PROCESS Requires one correspondence per application NEW PROCESS Requires only one correspondence for all applications Customer Number

9 1) Download the Customer Number Form How do I apply for a Customer Number? 2) Fill in the form 3) Mail to: US Patent & Trademark Office Box EBC Washington, DC or Fax to: (703) Customer Number Correspondence Address Practitioners of Record Point of Contact

10 Customer Number Barcode Labels n Initial supply of labels are issued to customers when the Customer Number is created n Labels should be used on correspondence with the USPTO in place of physical address or when listing practitioners of record (see previous slide) n An electronic version of the labels is available via request to the EBC to use with electronic forms n If you have inserted this into an electronic copy, fax or a copy for us to verify that the barcode will scan properly n Contact the EBC Customer Support Center at (703) ; fax (703)

11 Customer Number Use Customer Number to Associate a Group of Attorneys Use Customer Number to Associate an Address

12 Customer Number 1) Download the Customer Number Update Template How do I change the address on my applications to my customer number? 3) Mail your disk to: US Patent & Trademark Office Box EBC Washington, DC ) You will receive an address update report from USPTO 2) Fill in the Excel  spreadsheet Correspondence Address + PAIR Access

13 Customer Number Customer Number Update Template Rules n Submit in format provided - no additional information needed (e.g., attorney docket numbers) n Provide cover letter with information including contact person’s name, telephone number and address; must include the signature of one Registered Practitioner associated with the customer number n At least 2 of the following 4 columns must be included to upload successfully Patent NumberApplication NumberPatent DateFiling Date n EBC staff will review addresses and will contact you regarding any discrepancies in correspondence address before completing the upload

14 Customer Number What advantages does the Customer Number provide? 1) Access to PAIR 2) Necessary for EFS 3) Single paper provides address and attorney changes to all applications

15 Customer Number & PAIR Access The PKI certificate and Customer Number tie the person to the group of applications Customer Number PKI

16 United States Patent and Trademark Office Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

17 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) n Security of patent application and related data É U.S. National Patent Law, 35 USC 122 n E-Commerce interaction with customers requires: É Confidentiality É Authenticity É Access Control É Integrity É Non-Repudiation n USPTO serves as a Certificate Authority and issues digital certificates to our customers n Required for PAIR and EFS access

18 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) 1) Download the Certificate Action Form How do I apply for a PKI certificate? 2) Fill in the form 3)Mail to: US Patent & Trademark Office Box EBC Washington, DC ) When you receive security keys from USPTO, download and setup Entrust  software Note: Document must contain an original signature and be notarized by a notary public X

19 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Auth Code Ref Num

20 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Click to download USPTO Direct (PAIR) software NEW: Release 6.0

21 Electronic Business Center (EBC) Install software n Double-click on download file n Follow instructions to complete installation n Icon will be placed on your desktop n Double-click on desktop icon n Follow instructions to set up profile using reference number and authorization code provided by the USPTO

22 Electronic Business Center (EBC) Each PKI certificate may be used by the certificate holder plus one person under the direction and control of the holder n Reference Number and Authorization Code can only be used to create your profile one time Attempting to reuse Reference Number and Authorization Code will disable your certificate

23 PKI Certificate Renewal n Certificate renews one year from date of issue n The renewal is automatic and is not noticeable unless the certificate has been copied onto multiple computers É If the certificate has been copied, it will be renewed on the first PC that logs into PAIR on the first day following the one year anniversary

24 PKI and PAIR Proxy Server Public Private PTO Net Virtual Vault FIREWALL Re-direct Outside Inside Entrust Proxy Netscape Proxy PALM DATA SERVER

25 United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Application Information Retrieval

26 PAIR Features n Quick, easy and secure access to Patent and Patent Application information via direct access to PALM information É 24 hr access to PALM information É Access to real-time information n Two ways to access PAIR É Public É Private

27 PAIR Features Public n Requires NO PKI software n Review Patented & Published Application Information É Prosecution History É Status and Location Private n Requires PKI software n Requires Customer Number n Review Pending & Patented Application Information É Prosecution History É Status and Location É Limited Bibliographic Data USPTO Employee Directory

28 PAIR Interface Private PAIR Requires Customer Number and PKI Certificate

29 PAIR Interface Application Number Search

30 PAIR Interface Continuity Data Parent and Child

31 PAIR Interface Customer Number Search Private PAIR

32 PAIR Interface Public PAIR

33 PAIR Interface Maintenance Fees Public/Private PAIR

34 PAIR Interface

35 PAIR Benefits n Provide better customer service n Permits USPTO staff to focus on application processing USPTO n Direct electronic information retrieval n Real-time tracking of application status Customer

36 Customer Number Details Each geographically dispersed office of one business can have its own customer number DC New York California How many Customer Numbers do I need?

37 Customer Number Details How many Customer Numbers do I need? Multiple individuals at one location can each have their own customer numbers

38 Customer Number Details Corp ACorp BCorp C Remaining Applications How many Customer Numbers do I need? A firm can have different customer numbers for each of its major clients

39 Customer Number & PAIR Access Individuals must each have their own PKI certificate that will access the same set of applications through a common customer number Customer Number PKI

40 Customer Number & PAIR Access An individual can use a single PKI certificate to view multiple customer numbers Customer Number PKI Customer Number

41 Customer Number & PAIR Access PKI Customer Number PKI Corp A Corp C Corp B Remaining Applications Firm Customer Number

42 American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 n Subtitle A – Inventor’s Rights n Subtitle B – Patent and Trademark Fee Fairness n Subtitle C – First Inventor’s Defense n Subtitle D – Patent Term Guarantee n Subtitle D – Requests for Continued Examination n Subtitle E – Domestic Publication of Patent Applications Filed Abroad n Subtitle F – Optional Inter Partes Reexamination n Subtitle G – Patent and Trademark Office n Subtitle H – Miscellaneous Patent Provisions

43 Implementation of Subtitle E – Domestic Publication of Patent Applications Published Abroad n Automation Implementation: É Source of content for publication n Application as filed É Since 1997, the Patent Application Capture & Review System (PACR) has captured all applications as filed É PACR images will be exported to a publishing contractor for conversion into a composed electronic publication n Redacted, amended, voluntary and republication request É Applicant must submit an XML document via the Electronic Filing System (EFS) É Publishing contractor will convert XML document into a composed electronic publication

44 Implementation of Subtitle E – Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) Process Publication format: n Electronic É Front page, similar to US Patents (title, bibliographic data, abstract and figure(s)) É IPC and US classifications É Two column arrangement for specification and claims É Full text searchable É Content will be based on application as filed (will include translations supplied after filing) unless applicant submits a publication-ready document in electronic form via Electronic Filing System (EFS)

45 Implementation of Subtitle E – Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) Process

46 Pre-Grant Publication - Confirmation Number Each application will be assigned a confirmation number n Assigned at application initialization n Format: 4 digits, 1000 to 9999 n Used in combination with application number to confirm the accuracy of application number n Required for EFS PGPub filings n Recommended for all incoming submissions (paper & electronic)

47 Pre-Grant Publication - Confirmation Number Each application will be assigned a confirmation number n Printed on filing receipt n Available via PAIR n Available via PALM intranet General Information Screen n Confirmation number mailed on all pending applications to Patent applicant or attorney in December 2000

48 Pre-Grant Publication - Confirmation Number

49 Implementation of Subtitle E – Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) Process n Automation Implementation: (continued) É Source of bibliographic data for publication n Application as filed É The Patent Application Locating and Monitoring (PALM) system captures bibliographic data and will provide the data to the publishing contractor n Redacted, amended, voluntary and republication request É Applicant must submit bibliographic data in the XML document via the Electronic Filing System (EFS) which will be used for publication

50 Implementation of Subtitle E – Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) Process n Automation Implementation: (continued) É Bibliographic data review n The Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system will provide applicant with access to all bibliographic data to be used on the published front page for review n Applicant will have opportunity until 14 weeks prior to publication date to review bibliographic data and submit written request for corrections

51 Pre-Grant Publication - PAIR Interface Bibliographic Data Review Screen Private PAIR

52 Pre-Grant Publication - PAIR Interface Bibliographic Data Review Screen Request Corrections

53 Pre-Grant Publication - PAIR Interface Bibliographic Data Review Screen Change Request Receipt

54 Implementation of Subtitle E – Pre-Grant Publication (PGPub) Process n Automation Implementation: É Projected publication date: n The PALM system will calculate and print a projected publication date on filing receipts of all applications which have met the requirement for publication n If the projected publication date changes PALM will produce a notification to the applicant of the new projected publication date n PALM will track projected publication date and manage workflow for the publication cycle n At time of publication, PALM will produce a notice to applicant that his/her application has been published

55 Implementation of Subtitle D – Patent Term Guarantee n Effective Date: May 29, 2000 n An initial determination of PTA (Patent Term Adjustment) will be calculated by PALM and provided with the Notice of Allowance (NOA) É PALM will calculate PTA earned from filing to NOA É PALM will estimate issue date and project PTA to Issue n Two weeks prior to issue, PALM will recalculate PTA based on actual issue date

56 Implementation of Subtitle D – Patent Term Guarantee n Applicant review of PTA calculation: É Applicant can use PAIR to review PTA calculation n Review PALM paper entry dates n Review actual calculation É Reconsideration requests (petitions) would be required prior to, or with, payment of the issue fee n Must provide detailed explanation of where USPTO has made errors in PTA calculation

57 Implementation of Subtitle D – Patent Term Guarantee PAIR Review of PTA Calculation Note: The application must have been filed on or after 5/29/00, or have had a CPA entered therein on or after 5/29/00

58 Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) Customer Support Center Effective April 1, 2002, the EBC Customer Support Center will be available: 6am-12midnight Mon-Fri 8am-8pm Sat-Sun at (703) or via at Customer Number  Business Rules  Issuing New Customer Numbers  Update Bulk Address Changes  Customer Number Barcode Label Requests  Customer Number Data Change Information  Customer Number Application Information PKI Certificates  Answer Business Aspects of Customer Questions  Certificate Action Form Information  Initial Review of Certificate Action Forms  Troubleshoot End-User Problems Electronic Filing System  Provide Customer Number  Provide PKI Certificate Support  Provide Support for Authoring Tool to End-User Patent Application Information Retrieval  Registration Information  Troubleshoot End-User Problems  Troubleshoot Software Problems  Handle Questions Related to Data