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General information about patents, trademarks, products and services offered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and other related information is available by contacting the USPTO's General Information Services Division at:
800-PTO-9199 or 703-308-HELP
(FAX) 703-305-7786
(TDD) 703-305-7785
An automated message system is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day providing informational responses to frequently asked questions and the ability to order certain documents. Customer service representatives are available to answer questions, send materials or connect customers with other offices of the USPTO from 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday-Friday excluding federal holidays.
For other technical patent information needs, the Patent Assistance Center can be reached through customer service representatives at the above numbers, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT.
For questions or concerns relating to other technical trademark matters, the Trademark Assistance Center can be reached at 703-308-9000 or by facsimile at 703-308-7016.
General information brochures can also be obtained in person from the Patent Search Room located in Crystal Plaza 3, Room 1A03, 2021 South Clark Place, Arlington, VA 22202.
The USPTO web site (http://www.uspto.gov or ftp.uspto.gov) provides a wealth of information to all users. The USPTO web site offers links to news and notices (such as announcements, press releases, Official Gazette Notices and Federal Register Notices), USPTO contacts and addresses, activities and education related pages (such as the PTDL and Independent Inventor programs and the Kids Pages), patent specific information (such as issued patents and published patent applications, general information pertaining to applying for a patent, electronic filing of patent applications, and reference materials such as the MPEP and examination guidelines), and trademark specific information (such as the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure and the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)). In addition, the web site allows downloading of a variety of USPTO forms (including PCT forms), ordering copies of patents and trademarks, accessing a list of all current fees, paying patent maintenance fees, replenishing deposit accounts, accessing various legal materials, linking to related web sites, etc.
The USPTO web site offers two patent database collections which provide the public with flexible and powerful search capabilities. The Patent Grants Database provides access to the full-text of all U.S. patents issued since 1976, and to the full-page images of all U.S. patents issued since 1790. The Patent Applications Database provides both full-text and full-page images of all U.S. patent applications published since March 15, 2001.
The Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) allows USPTO customers to retrieve data, check the status of pending actions, and submit information and applications. The tools currently available in the Patent EBC are Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) and the Electronic Filing System (EFS).
PAIR (http://pair.uspto.gov) provides customers direct secure access to their own patent application status information, as well as to general patent information publicly available.
EFS allows customers to electronically file patent application documents securely via the Internet. EFS is a system for submitting new utility patent applications and pre-grant publication submissions in electronic publication-ready form. EFS includes software to help customers prepare submissions in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format and to assemble the various parts of the application as an electronic submission package. EFS also allows the submission of Computer Readable Format (CRF) sequence listings for pending biotechnology patent applications which were filed in paper form.
For questions and information concerning the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the PCT Help Desk is available to provide assistance and may be reached by telephone at (703) 305-3257 between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:30 pm (EST/EDT), Monday through Friday, or by facsimile at (703) 305-2919, 24 hours a day. In addition, helpful information is available through the internet at the PCT Legal Office page of the USPTO web site and at the World Intellectual Property Office web site (http://www.wipo.org/).
The following USPTO search and information resource facilities are accessible to the public:
(A) Patent Search Room (Crystal Plaza 3, 1A03) at (703) 308-HELP (Hours: Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EST/EDT);
(B) Patent Image Retrieval (Crystal Mall 1, 1A02) at (703) 308-6001 (Hours: Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EST/EDT);
(C) Patent Assignment Search Room (Crystal Plaza 3, 2C03) at (703) 308-2768 (Hours: Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST/EDT); and
(D) Scientific and Technical Information Center (Crystal Plaza 3/4, 2C08) at (703) 308-0810 (Hours: Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST/EDT).
The USPTO cannot recommend any particular attorney or agent, or aid in the selection of an attorney or agent. A list of Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may be purchased in paper form from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (202-512-1800), or on floppy diskette or CD-ROM from the USPTO's Office of Electronic Information Products and Services (703-306-2600). It is also available on the USPTO web site.
To obtain a list of registered patent attorneys and agents for a particular area, customers may either write to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Box OED, Washington, DC, 20231, contact a customer service representative through the USPTO's General Information Services Division (see "In General" above), or acquire the information from the USPTO web site. The attorneys and agents list may be examined without charge at Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) and at many other libraries throughout the U.S. Many large cities also have associations of patent attorneys and agents which may be consulted.
For information and questions concerning recently filed patent applications and filing receipts, contact the Customer Service Center of the Office of Initial Patent Examination at (703) 308-1202 (hours: weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST/EDT; the Customer Service Center hours for receipt of mail are weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, EST/EDT).
For information on the status of a patent application, contact the File Information Unit at (703) 308-2733.
Inquiries regarding certified copies of documents, including patent applications-as-filed, patent related file wrappers, patent copies, and reproduced copies of individual replacement pages or previous revisions of the MPEP, should be directed to the Certification Division at (703) 308-9726 or 1-800-972-6382. Orders for certified copies may be placed by facsimile when paying by VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, or USPTO Deposit Account at (703) 308-7048. Orders for uncertified copies of patents may be placed by phone at (703) 305-8716 or by fax at (703) 305-8759. To order file histories for self-service copying, contact the File Information Unit at (703) 308-2733.
Information regarding maintenance fees may be obtained by contacting the Status and Entity Division at (703) 308-5068, or by accessing the maintenance fee automated voice response system, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (703) 308-5036 or (703) 308-5037. Status requests can also be faxed to the Status and Entity Division at (703) 308-5077.
For questions pertaining to filing assignments or other documents affecting title, contact the Assignment Division at (703) 308-9723. Documents may be submitted to the Assignment Division by facsimile at (703) 306-5995. See MPEP § 302.09 for additional information.
For matters decided by the Office of Petitions, the appropriate USPTO personnel may be reached at (703) 305-9282 or by facsimile at (703) 308-6916. Papers hand-carried to the Office of Petitions should be delivered to Crystal Plaza 4, Room 3C23, 2201 South Clark Place, Arlington, Virginia, 22202.
For information regarding orders for the PatentIn software program, call the Office of Electronic Information Products and Services at (703) 306-2600. For assistance using PatentIn, call (703) 306-4119.
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