By Godson Umejiego, Correspondent USA
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is in the process of transitioning to a system that supports submitting new patent applications in structured text, specifically DOCX format. In response to public feedback, the USPTO now considers the DOCX document filed by the applicant to be the authoritative document. Accordingly, an applicant who files an application in DOCX may rely on that version as the source or evidentiary copy of the application to make any corrections to the documents in the application file.
To improve application quality and efficiency, the USPTO will transition to DOCX for all filers on January 1, 2022. The USPTO is hosting regular DOCX training sessions to provide more information, demonstrate how to file and retrieve DOCX files in various patent platforms, and answer any questions. Applicants can also file test submissions using Patent Center training mode to practice filing in DOCX. In addition, the USPTO will offer listening sessions to gather feedback to further improve DOCX features.
