The USPTO is Going Paperless

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April 10, 2023

By: Aisha O. Otori

The USPTO is Going Paperless!

On April 18th, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark office will begin issuing electronic patents instead of paper patents. According to the USPTO, the new eGrant process will not only minimize paper waste but will also reduce pendency periods. The new eGrant process will have a significant impact on continuing application practice because the time between the mailing of the Issue Notification and the issuing of the eGrant patent may be reduced. Therefore, the amount of time to file continuing applications may also be reduced.

The USPTO has advised applicants to file continuing applications as early as possible, but preferably before the payment of the issue fee. Thus, in line with the USPTO’s best practice advisory, Coleman and Horowitt’s IP department will change its policy to now require its patent clients to file continuation applications at the same time as when the issue fee is paid.

This article was written by Aisha O. Otori. Aisha is an associate at Coleman & Horowitt, LLP where she represents clients in intellectual property and business transactions including patent prosecution and enforcement; copyright, trademark, trade dress registration and enforcement. Aisha can be reached at (559) 248-4820 or by email at aotori@ch-law.com

About the firm:

Coleman & Horowitt, LLP is a law firm in California focused on delivering responsive and value-driven service. Coleman & Horowitt, LLP has locations in Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Sonora, Visalia, and Newport Beach. The firm has been representing businesses and their owners since 1994. They are known for their Primerus membership which is a national and international society of highly rated law firms (www.primerus.com). The firm has helped businesses solve their most difficult legal problems by handling matters in transactions, litigation, agriculture and environmental regulation and litigation, intellectual property, real estate, estate planning and probate.