New for ePAVE 5.1
In
accordance with applicable provisions of PCT Administrative
Instructions
Part 7, as applied to national and international applications,
an applicant has the option of filing a provisional
or non-provisional application using either the built-in "low
level" security certificate or the USPTO-issued "high
level" security certificate. Low-level security
certificates require only the verifiable e-mail address of
the person submitting the application; however, they may
be used only for application submissions,
and may not be used for subsequent
transactions, as they do not provide sufficient authentication.
High-level certificates are preferred for
all filings and are required for
subsequent filings. |
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To take advantage of Electronic Filing System (EFS) and Patent
Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) for pending patent applications
on our website, several pieces of information must be correlated
to assure that you and only you have access to your data. This
page describes the steps you must perform to help us connect
you to your data.
1. Apply for a Customer Number
First, you must have a customer number, which will be used to ensure
that only you can access your patent application information. To get
your unique Customer Number, please download and complete the Customer
Number Request form (PDF, 12k) and fax it to the Electronic Business
Center at 703-308-2840 . If you are a registered attorney or
patent agent, then your registration number must be associated with
your customer number. This is accomplished by adding your registration
number to the Customer
Number Request form.
2. You have your Customer Number, now what?
Once you have your customer number, you must also associate your current
patent applications with it. Please see the Customer
Number Upload Spreadsheet (MS Excel, 207k) showing how to put
this information into spreadsheet format. This information can be
sent on a diskette to: Mail Stop EBC; Customer Number; Commissioner
for Patents; P.O. Box 1450; Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. If you do
not have any pending applications on file, then skip to Step 3.
3. To Update a Customer Number
If you have a Customer Number and you need to update the information
associated with it, please download and complete the Customer
Number Data Change Form (PDF, 12k) and fax to the Electronic
Business Center at 703-308-2840. This may be useful to attorneys
changing firms or organizations that are reorganizing the management
of a group of patents.
Click
here to read about the process for becoming a registered
attorney or patent agent; however, this is not required
to be a PAIR participant.
4. Read the Subscriber Agreement and Request a Digital
Certificate
After you have read the Subscriber
Agreement (PDF, 18k) and obtained your Customer Number,
you can complete the Certificate
Action Form (DOC, 56k)(PAIR access form). Then have the Certificate
Action Form notarized by a notary and mail the originals (no faxes
or copies) to Mail Stop EBC; Commissioner for Patents; P.O. Box 1450;
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, or provide the completed Certificate
Action Form and proof of identity in person by to a USPTO employee
designated by the USPTO CIO to perform this task.
This information will be used to generate a certificate that will be
used to uniquely identify you and allow secure access to your data.
To assure the security of your data, follow the policy described
in the Subscriber
Agreement.
5. Obtaining Your Access Codes
After your application has been approved you will receive two codes: 1) Authorization Code and 2) Reference Number. The Authorization code will be sent via e-mail and the Reference Number by U.S. mail. In addition, for customers with U.S. residence only, the Patent EBC will attempt one phone call to deliver the Reference Number. The Reference Number will only be given if the requestor is reached, otherwise a message will be left that their Reference Number will be mailed and to contact the Patent EBC with any questions.
Once you have both codes, you will be able to download software for PAIR and take advantage of electronic filing of patent applications or patent application status checks via the Internet. For any customer who would like to receive their reference number before it arrives via U.S. mail, please contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197.
6. Recovery of Access Codes
Code lifespan is 60 days, starting on the date of issuance. If your codes expire or have been lost, contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197 to request reactivation. The Authorization Code will be sent via e-mail. The Patent EBC will attempt one phone call, for customers with U.S. residence only, to deliver the Reference Number. The Reference Number will only be given if the requestor is reached, otherwise a message will be left that their Reference Number will be mailed via U.S. mail and to contact the Patent EBC with any questions. International customers will receive their Reference Number in a separate e-mail from the Authorization Code.
Try these links for more information:
Visit the Patent
Electronic Business Center pages for PAIR and EFS information.
Visit the main
Patents page to locate more online patent guidance and resources.
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