The Future of Electronic Filing at the

1

• The Future of Electronic Filing at the
• United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Presented by
• William Stryjewski
• eCommerce Division
• SIRA, USPTO
• June, 2005

2
Why eFiling?

• Problem
• The continued growth in USPTO workload cannot be
  effectively managed in the current paper-based
  environment. 
• Solution
• Implementation of an eGovernment strategy that
  includes electronic
• receipt,
• processing,
• reporting, and
• Publication
• 21st Century Strategic Plan

FY2006 Goal 10 of Patent Applications filed
via EFS
3
History of eFiling

• EFS Pilot Program established in 1999
• ePave began receiving submissions in 1999
• Began receiving PASAT submissions in 2000
• EFS Production Release occurred in October 2000
• EFS gained two more submission types in 2001
• Supported ability to file eIDSs in May 2002
• Annex F Compliant in January 2003
• Pilot 11/02 ePhoenix (aka Image File Wrapper or
  IFW)
• IFW in Production in July 2003
• ePAVE interface updated May 2004
• PASAT replaced with EFS-ABX August 2004

4
eFiling Today

• USPTO Supplied Software, EFS-ABX ePAVE allow
  Applicants to eFile
• New Utility Patent Applications
• Provisional Patent Applications
• Pre-Grant Publications
• Electronic Assignments
• Information Disclosure Statements
• CRF Bio-Sequence Listings

5
EFS-Web

• Why Web? Why Now?
• USPTO Software and File Format unfamiliar and
  difficult to work with
• Low eFiling volume
• e-Filing Forum Feedback
• Make it Simple
• Make it Safe
• Make it Happen
• Other Successful USPTO Web Initiatives
• Align with USPTO Future Initiatives

6
EFS-Web Timeline

• September 2004 First e-Filing Forum
• March 2005 e-Filing Forum Returns to Discuss
  Scope, Focus, Direction
• May 25, 2005 e-Filing Forum to new audience
• July 21, 2005 Docketing System Meeting
  (tentative)
• Winter 2005 Deploy Beta Version
• Spring 2006 Deploy Production Version

7
EFS-Web e-Filer Experience

• EFS-Web Will Provide Choices and Options to the
  e-Filer to Match Their Business Processes and
  Environments

8
EFS-Web e-Filer Authoring Experience

• Specifications, Drawings, and Forms May be
  Created With a Variety of Commercially Purchased
  Products, as Well as With Freeware / Shareware
  Available on the Internet

9
EFS-Web e-Filer PDF Creation Experience

• Preliminary USPTO Standard
• Licensed Embedded Fonts
• PDF Version X.X and Higher Compatible
• No Password Encryption
• No Virus or Embedded Code
• No Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
• Sound, Movies, Executables

10
EFS-Web e-Filer Browser Experience

• E-Filer Connects to Internet Using Their Existing
  Browser
• Simple
• Safe
• Secure

11
EFS-Web e-Filer Security Experience

• Low Level Security Simple SSL Connection
• High Level Security USPTO Issued PKI Certificate

12
EFS-Web e-Filer Web Filing Experience

• EFS-Web Will Provide an Intuitive and User
  Friendly Interface to Facilitate the e-Filing
  Experience
• Simple Steps Lead to Successful e-Filing

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New Submission with Low Level Sign-In
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Enter Application Information
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Attach and Review Documents
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Pay Fees Associate with New Filing
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Confirm and Submit
18
Acknowledgement Receipt (New Application Filing)
19
Follow-On Submission Using Digital Certificate
20
Review Application Information and Attach
Documents
21
Pay Fees Associated with New Filing
22
Confirm and Submit
23
Save Submission
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Acknowledgement Receipt (Follow-On Submission)