Patent Law

Goodbye to Duplicate Paper Copies of Fee Forms

By mike

© 2008, Michael E. Kondoudis

For those who are still filing by paper, the USPTO announced last week that it will finally be doing away with the requirement for duplicate copies of forms required for processing fees (e.g., an authorization to charge a deposit account).  Before Image File Wrappers (IFWs), when paper filing was an Applicant’s only option, duplicate copies of fee processing forms were required because the USPTO processed fees separately from the paper application file.  Today, however, these forms are scanned into an IFW so that they are viewable throughout the USPTO, even when these forms are submitted by paper.   Even in those few applications in which duplicate copies would still be necessary for processing a fee (e.g., national security applications), the USPTO will make any necessary copies required for processing.

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Full post as published by Patentablydefined.com on September 02, 2008 (boomark / email).