By Christopher P. Singer --
The USPTO has issued a notice discussing changes to its Electronic Notification of Outgoing Correspondence pilot program, better known as "e-Office actions." The changes are in response to feedback the Office has received from pilot program participants. The pilot program was launched on December 16, 2006, and is designed to notify participants through e-mail notification when outgoing correspondence relating to their applications are available through Private PAIR. This program primarily covered outgoing correspondence from a Technology Center, and did not cover communications from a number of other PTO departments (including the Offices of: Initial Patent Examination, Petitions, Patent Publications, PCT Legal Administration, and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences). These non-participating departments still generate outgoing paper correspondence by mail.
The changes to the program include: (1) discontinuation of e-mail notifications for outgoing paper correspondence; and (2) that outgoing correspondence will be immediately retrievable through Private PAIR upon receipt of the e-mail notification. No other changes were announced; however, the notice indicated that the PTO will continue to solicit feedback and consider enacting changes in response to that feedback.
For additional information regarding this topic, please see:
- "USPTO Begins the 'e-Office Action' Pilot Program," December 19, 2007
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