1. Welcome to EFS-Web Training
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

2. Today’s Training Agenda
Welcome and Electronic Filing Background
Getting Started
Electronic Business Center
System Requirements
Creating PDF Files
Overview and Filing Demonstration
EFS–Web Demo
System Nuances
Document Descriptions
Extras
PDF Fillable Forms
Questions and Answers
United States Patent and Trademark Office

3. Important Background Information
USPTO is reengineering the entire patent prosecution process to deal with the realities of today’s IP needs
Patent filing is a paper-intensive process, with over 2 million pages submitted weekly
USPTO has developed a new web-based patent filing system after intense consultation and feedback from the IP law community – over 200 Beta users
United States Patent and Trademark Office

4. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Goals
Have at least 10% of all patent applications filed electronically by September 30, 2006
Create ongoing dialogue with industry regarding patent prosecution process improvement
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5. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Introducing EFS-Web
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution
United States Patent and Trademark Office

6. United States Patent and Trademark Office
What EFS-Web Does
Rapid online submission of PDF files of patent applications and documents
Online payment of patent application and document filing fees
Verifies and validates files before submission
Provides a valid filing receipt that is the equivalent of an Express Mail receipt
United States Patent and Trademark Office

7. United States Patent and Trademark Office
EFS-Web Benefits
Provides electronic acknowledgement receipt and virtually immediate access to patent application data in Private PAIR
Dramatically reduces paper and filing needs
Allows online collaboration among IP professionals who can file applications and papers anywhere, anytime
United States Patent and Trademark Office

8. United States Patent and Trademark Office
EFS-Web Benefits
Eliminates charges for Express Mail & couriers
Eliminates possibility of losing applications enroute to USPTO
Plays a vital role in strengthening the U.S. IP system
United States Patent and Trademark Office

9. United States Patent and Trademark Office
EFS-Web Benefits
Safe
EFS-Web submissions protected with your receipt date just like a postcard
Simple
Even the largest and most complex patent applications can be submitted using PDF files and a few web screens
Secure
EFS-Web submissions are protected through encrypted communications between USPTO and users’ browsers
United States Patent and Trademark Office

10. How EFS-Web Works User Accesses USPTO Portal Access EFS-Web
As Unregistered
Filer
Authenticate as
Registered
Choose
Filing
Type
New Application
Design
Utility
Provisional
371
Existing Application
Saved Package
Last 20 EFS receipts
Enter
Key Patent
Application Data
(New Only)
Attach PDF
Files
Upload
and
Validate
Calculate
Fees
(Optional)
Submit
Pay Fees
Via RAM
Interface
Access Filing in
Private PAIR (Registered Filer Only)
Receive
Acknowledgement
Receipt
Choose
Payment
Options
United States Patent and Trademark Office

11. United States Patent and Trademark Office
What Can Be Filed?
New Applications
New Utility
Provisional
Design with Color Drawings
371 National Stage
Follow-on submissions associated with an Application
Document Description List
Over 80 document descriptions – Amendments, Petitions, Board of Appeals Documents, Non-Patent Literature, Foreign References Cited, Application Data Sheet, Information Disclosure Statement, etc.
Numerous Fees
Filing Fees
Extensions of Time
Petition Fees
United States Patent and Trademark Office

12. United States Patent and Trademark Office
What Cannot Be Filed?
Text files (Fall 2006)
Bio. Sequence Listings
Computer Program Listings
Text Tables
PCT International Applications (Fall 2006)
Maintenance Fees
New Plant Applications or Color Plant Drawings
Documents related to Registration Practice & Disciplinary Proceedings
Certified Copies (Ribbon Copies)
Reexamination and Reissue
Secrecy Order Applications and/or Documents
Contested Cases at Board of Appeal and Interferences
Third party papers under 37 CFR 1.99
Protests under 37 CFR 1.291
Public use hearing papers under 37 CFR 1.292
United States Patent and Trademark Office

13. Who Can Submit Patent Applications and Documents
Unregistered Filers
Anyone who visits EFS-Web can submit patent applications
Patent attorneys, patent agents, paralegals, legal secretaries, pro se filers
A customer number is NOT required for submissions
Registered Filers
Those who obtain a Digital Certificate in advance from USPTO’s Electronic Business Center (EBC)
United States Patent and Trademark Office

14. Electronic Business Center
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

15. Electronic Business Center (EBC)
Electronic Filing System
PKI Certificates/Digital Certificates
Patent Application Information Retrieval
Customer Number
United States Patent and Trademark Office

16. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Customer Number
Anyone can have a Customer Number
Customer Number can be used for indicating:
Correspondence Address
Power of Attorney
Maintenance Fee
A law firm may have multiple customer numbers to manage relationship to various clients
An attorney may view applications in Private PAIR if his/her registration number is associated with the customer number
Allows individual to change address for multiple applications with one form
United States Patent and Trademark Office

17. Obtaining a Digital Certificate
User downloads
and fills out
Certificate Action Form
User gets the Certificate Action
Form notarized
Certificate Action Form mailed/overnighted to USPTO’s Electronic Business Center
Digital Certificate is
typically issued 3-4 days
after the EBC receives the form
United States Patent and Trademark Office

18. Legal Notes Digital Certificate Subscriber Agreement
Certificate Sharing
Legal personnel working under the direction and control of a Digital Certificate holder may file if they provide name and address
Upcoming Enhancements
Solution for corporate sharing of workload related to patent filing and viewing
See EFS-Web Legal Framework for more information
United States Patent and Trademark Office

19. Electronic Business Center (EBC)
If you have questions or need technical assistance please contact our:
Electronic Business Center (EBC)
Monday – Friday (6am – Midnight EST)
Phone: /
* Select option 2
Fax:
United States Patent and Trademark Office

20. System Requirements
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

21. Contact your IT department or the EBC for additional assistance
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 2000, XP
Macintosh OSX 10.4
Linux RedHat 9.0
Standard eCommerce Settings & Environment:
Networks and Firewall Infrastructures MUST allow communication via HTTPS/SSLv3 or TLSv1
Workstations MUST run a supported version of Java Runtime Environment Software
Supported Browsers:
Internet Explorer 5.5, 6.0
Netscape Navigator 7.x
Apple Safari 2.0
Mozilla 1.7.3
Browser Settings:
Browsers must accept cookies
Must enable java scripting
Must accept Entrust security applets
Firewalls must not strip packet header content
Browsers must support HTML frames
Contact your IT department or the EBC for additional assistance
United States Patent and Trademark Office

22. PDF Creation
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

23. United States Patent and Trademark Office
About PDF Technology
PDF (Portable Document Format) is a universal file format
Preserves the fonts, images, and layout of any source document regardless of application/platform used to create it
EFS-Web accepts text-based and image-based PDF files
EFS-Web requires you to have a PDF Creation Tool
PDF Reader - Allows you to view PDF files
PDF Writer (Creation Tool) - Allows you to create PDF files
PDF
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24. United States Patent and Trademark Office
About PDF Files
PDF Creation Tools that have been preliminarily tested by USPTO:
ABXPDF
No configuration required
Available free on
Adobe Professional
Open Office
Easy Office
Cute PDF
PDF 995
Primo PDF
Amyuni PDF Converter Pro
PDF
United States Patent and Trademark Office

25. United States Patent and Trademark Office
About PDF Files
Document Format
Standard 8 1/2” x 11”
A4 (21 cm. by 29.7 cm)
Larger pages will be reduced to 8 1/2 x 11
Versions 1.1 – 1.6 of the PDF Specification
Fonts
Must be embedded to ensure they travel with the document
All fonts must be licensed and legally embeddable
PDF
Fonts that are embedded become part of the PDF document. By using embedded fonts, the author ensures that the document will display and print exactly as it was intended.
United States Patent and Trademark Office

26. About PDF File Objects:
PDF Files should not include:
3D models
Color Images - Except drawings in Design applications
Images below the recommended 300 dpi
Attachments (sound, movie files, etc.)
Multi-page objects
Dependencies on external files or programs
United States Patent and Trademark Office

27. United States Patent and Trademark Office
About PDF Files
Security Features
No password protected or encrypted PDF files are permitted
EFS-Web PKI infrastructure will handle encryption
Embedded Code/Viruses
PDF document must be free of executables, worms, viruses or other malicious content
Files with malicious content will be deleted
Other PDF File Features
No Commenting/ Reviewing features used
No Hyperlinks and bookmarks
No Layers
United States Patent and Trademark Office

28. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Creating PDF files
Scan- Transfer paper to an electronic document by scanning your document
Print- Using Adobe PDF print driver & USPTO
JobOptions or use another recommended PDF print driver
Convert- Using Adobe Professional menu
United States Patent and Trademark Office

29. PDF File Naming Convention
Filename.pdf
Start with [A-Z, a-z , 0-9 ] excluding brackets and commas
Last 4 characters need to be .pdf 
Can consist of:
[A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _, -] excluding brackets and commas
No spaces in actual PDF file name
Spaces permitted in file path
Can be up to 100 characters long including .pdf
United States Patent and Trademark Office

30. Adobe Job Options
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

31. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Adobe JobOptions
What Adobe .JobOptions file does:
It sets your Adobe Print Driver to use acceptable USPTO PDF settings
And configures your settings by:
Compressing
Setting minimum resolution
Embedding fonts
Where the USPTO .JobOptions file and installation instructions can be found:
United States Patent and Trademark Office

32. PDF Validation
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

33. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Validation Warnings
Page size is not 8 ½ by 11 inches or A4
Non-licensed fonts
An ADS or IDS is attached that is not an USPTO fillable form
An USPTO ADS or IDS Fillable form that is missing data from key fields
Two or more files with the same name
United States Patent and Trademark Office

34. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Validation Errors
Non-embedded fonts
Secure file (password encrypted)
Any version of PDF that is not supported (below 1.1)
PDF containing OLE (object linking and embedding) files
Not a PDF file type
File size over 25MB (except USPTO fillable forms)
United States Patent and Trademark Office

35. Sign all documents according to 37CFR 1.4
Legal Notes
Signature Requirements
PDF created by Scanning - You may print documents, wet sign and scan them back in as a PDF file - You may scan in an image of a signature and insert the signature into a PDF file
PDF created by Printing/Converting - Enter your electronic signature into a document and then print/convert to PDF file
USPTO Fillable Form - Enter your electronic signature into the signature field(s) in the form
Signature Examples
1) General Format: /Jane Doe/ ) Registered Attorney: /Jane Doe/ Jane Doe Jane Doe 99,999
Sign all documents according to 37CFR 1.4
See Page 11 of EFS-Web Legal Framework for more information
United States Patent and Trademark Office

36. EFS-Web Overview
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

37. How EFS-Web Works User Accesses USPTO Portal Access EFS-Web
As Unregistered
Filer
Authenticate as
Registered
Choose
Filing
Type
New Application
Design
Utility
Provisional
371
Existing Application
Saved Package
Last 20 EFS receipts
Enter
Key Patent
Application Data
(New Only)
Attach PDF
Files
Upload
and
Validate
Calculate
Fees
(Optional)
Submit
Pay Fees
Via RAM
Interface
Access Filing in
Private PAIR (Registered Filer Only)
Receive
Acknowledgement
Receipt
Choose
Payment
Options
United States Patent and Trademark Office

38. Demonstration Scenarios
Unregistered eFiler
New filing
Registered eFiler
Follow-on filing
Multi-doc Amendment
Save Submission
Review Submission in Private PAIR
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39. EFS-Web Demo .
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

40. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Legal Notes
Acknowledgement Receipt
Electronic equivalent of a post card for the submission – Official Filing receipt will still be sent by US postal service
Receipt date is based on Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Provides:
-Receipt Date which establishes the Filing Date - Application Number and confirmation number - EFS ID (unique identifier of the submission to assist in support) - Bibliographic data - PDF Filename(s), page count of the file(s), and document description(s) - Fee amount and acknowledgement of payment
Contact the Patent Electronic Business Center if you have problems viewing your submissions receipt
United States Patent and Trademark Office

41. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Legal Notes
Post Submission Procedures
Fee Payment - Pay applicable fees for new applications before midnight EST of the date of filing without penalty
Missing Parts - Registered users can file missing parts within the same day as follow-on documents - Will not be considered late - Will not require a late/missing surcharge in certain situations
Amending Parts/Corrections - Express Abandonment - May request refund for certain fees
United States Patent and Trademark Office

42. EFS-Web Indexing
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

43. Indexing EFS-Web Submissions
Indexing is applying a document description to a PDF File or a page range in a PDF File
All PDF Files or documents in a multi-document PDF File must be indexed
There are over 80 document descriptions offered in EFS-Web
All indexing is checked by USPTO personnel
Indexing has no legal relationship to the patent application, indexing is an administrative act for processing the submission
United States Patent and Trademark Office

44. Indexing EFS-Web Submissions
Why index?
Allows for quicker and more accurate downstream processing of your submission
Documents are instantly routed to the Image File Wrapper
Un-indexed documents would have to put the submission in a temporary storage
Generates work flow and assigns the submission to USPTO personnel to be acted upon
How do I index?
Choose a document description from the drop down list
Categories are used in assisting in finding the document description
Filter the document descriptions into frequently used groups
United States Patent and Trademark Office

45. Common Indexing Scenario: New Application Filing (Utility)
These documents are often included in a new application:
Transmittal Letter (Cover Letter; USPTO Form SB05; PTO-1390)
Drawings
Information Disclosure Statement (USPTO Form SB08A & SB08B)
Foreign Patent References
Non-Patent Literature Documents
Application Data Sheet (USPTO Form SB014)
Fee Sheet (Using the “Calculate Fee” and “Pay Fees” Tabs in EFS-Web will generate, fill out and index the document correctly; USPTO Form SB017)
Foreign Priority (Cannot be filed in EFS-Web as it must be a ribbon-copy)
Incoming Specification - Not in English
Power of Attorney (USPTO Form SB81; PTO/SB/80)
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46. Common Indexing Scenario: New Application Filing (Utility)
New Utility
Oath or Declaration (USPTO Form SB01A)
Specification
Claims
Abstract
Drawings
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47. Common Indexing Scenario: Amendments
Amendment type
Amendment after Non-Final
Amendment after Notice of Allowance (Rule 312)
Preliminary Amendment
Amendment after Final
Amended application part (i.e. Specification, Claims, Abstract, Drawings)
Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks made in an Amendment
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48. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Indexing Help
Complete, sort-able List of Document Descriptions:
Help page “How to Index my Documents”:
United States Patent and Trademark Office

49. United States Patent and Trademark Office
PDF Files: Multi-Doc
A Multi-doc PDF is a single file that contains more than one document description
Each document section must begin on a new page
Page ranges must be entered for each section
United States Patent and Trademark Office

50. EFS-Web Nuances
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

51. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Navigation
The ‘Continue’ button must be used to proceed forward and to save your information
Navigation Tabs (not the Browser buttons) are used to go back and review or make changes
The Tab-key can be used to move from field to field
NOTE: The Tabs allow users to move forward and backward to screens you have already visited. If you use the tabs to go back and make changes, you must click Continue to save those changes – if you simply use the Tab to go forward, the changes will be lost.
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52. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Navigation
Asterisks (*) represent required fields
Cancel vs. Logout (Cancel does not logout registered eFilers)
Help and buttons
Portal can be maximized to expand and remove the Navigation Links
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53. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Validation
Page level validation messages will be displayed at the top of the page and also below the corresponding field
Warning Messages vs. Error Messages
PDF files containing errors must be removed
PDF files containing warnings allow you to continue
United States Patent and Trademark Office

54. PDF Fillable Forms
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution

55. PDF Fillable Form Features
Enhanced to
interface with EFS-Web
No special
software required
Dynamic capability
to add data
PDF
Fillable Form
Save form electronically
with data embedded
Print forms with data
entered by the user
Re-open the saved form
to modify existing data
Import data in XML format
from multiple sources
Export data in XML format to document
management systems and other databases
United States Patent and Trademark Office

56. Fillable Forms Enabled for EFS-Web
Application Data
Sheet (ADS – 37 CFR 1.76)
New Utility, Provisional, Design & 371 National Stage
Contains Bibliographic Data
New to USPTO Updates current form SB 14
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS – 37 CFR 1.97 & 1.98)
Listing all U.S. patents and U.S. publications
Foreign patent documents and non-patent literature (NPL)
Updates current form SB 08a/b
New Forms in Fall 2006
Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37CFR 1.378(c))
Request for Continuing Examination (RCE)
United States Patent and Trademark Office

57. EFS-Web and Other Forms
Legacy PDF forms
PDF forms are on the USPTO web site, but these do not save data describe
Field information will not be automatically loaded onto USPTO systems
Print to Image
Legacy forms located at:
User-created fillable form PDF files and User-modified USPTO fillable form PDF files
User data will be accepted
Data in individual fields will not auto-load into USPTO systems
United States Patent and Trademark Office

58. Client and Server Validation
Client Validation
Checks for data type, field length, etc
Checks that mandatory fields are filled so form will auto-load into USPTO Systems
Server Validation
Checks that the official USPTO Fillable Form is received
Checks for ADS/IDS Form Version 1.0 and above
If the ADS / IDS Fillable Form has been modified
Data will not be auto loaded
If the customer creates their own ADS / IDS Fillable Form
United States Patent and Trademark Office

59. Technical Requirements
Adobe Reader 7.0 is Required
Update to version for optimal performance
How to check the version
- Select Help
- About Adobe Reader
Updating 6.0 and below will only update that version
Must uninstall old version then install Adobe Reader 7.0
United States Patent and Trademark Office

60. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Form Nuances
Optimum performance with latest Adobe version
Title of Invention and Inventor Name character limitation
Special characters such as ©, ®, ™, ß, ë, µ, Ü, ñ, etc can be entered but translation errors may occur
Auto load can fail if:
Blank Applicant sections are created
Continuity Type is not selected
Continuity Type, Prior Application Number, and Filing Date are not entered in the Continuity Statement
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61. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Questions ?
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62. Thank you for attending
USPTO’s new web-based patent application and document submission solution