USPTO Provides Contingency Option for EFS-Web

    By Donald Zuhn --

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced today that it is providing a new contingency option for its electronic filing system (EFS-Web) for use when the primary portal to the EFS-Web has an unscheduled outage.  In a notice published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 27986), the Office stated that effective immediately, the EFS-Web contingency option will permit EFS-Web users to sign-on as unregistered users to file new applications, national stage submissions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) submitted with the basic national fee necessary to enter the national stage, requests for reexamination, and certain petitions, during an unscheduled outage of the primary portal to EFS-Web.

In the event of an unscheduled outage of the primary EFS-Web portal, the Office will post a notice of such outage and provide the link to EFS-Web Contingency Option on the EFS-Web webpage.  Ten types of documents may be filed electronically using the EFS-Web Contingency Option during outages of the primary portal:

1.  Provisional patent applications;
2.  Nonprovisional utility patent applications (including reissue utility patent applications);
3.  Nonprovisional design patent applications (including reissue design patent applications);
4.  International applications for filing in the U.S. Receiving Office;
5.  National stage submissions submitted with the basic national fee;
6.  Requests for ex parte reexamination for utility or design patents;
7.  Requests for inter partes reexamination for utility or design patents;
8.  Petitions to make special based on age;
9.  Petitions to accept an unintentionally delayed payment of maintenance fee; and
10.  Petition to make special under the accelerated examination program.

With respect to national stage submissions, the Office notes that if the Revenue Accounting and Management (RAM) system (for making online payments) is unavailable, users may pay the necessary national stage entry fees by including a written authorization to charge the desired fees together with the national stage submission or by sending the payment via Express Mail on the same date that the national stage submission is electronically filed.  The Office also notes that if the Patent Application Locating and Monitoring (PALM) system is unavailable, neither the EFS-Web nor the EFS-Web Contingency Option will permit national stage submissions to be filed (due to the inability to determine whether a previous national stage submission has been made for a given international application).  In the event of PALM system unavailability, applicants will be required to use hand-delivery or Express Mail to timely submit documents and fees for national stage entry.

Additional information regarding the EFS-Web Contingency Option can be found in the Federal Register notice or at the USPTO's EFS-Web Contingency webpage.

Comments

[General Admission]

This is a nice move by the PTO, and should provide a quantum of additional reassurance for prosecutors that they will be able to e-file on deadlines, without having to worry about finding the nearest 24hr USPO. One more step down the road of making paper and stamps as rare as Susan B. Anthony dollars.