Advisory (24AUG2009): When an eIDS (electronic Information Disclosure Statement) fillable form (PTO/SB/08a -- http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/efs/US_IDS_Form__SB_08a.pdf) is filed via EFS-Web, citation information for the U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications is automatically loaded to USPTO systems. Note that EFS-Web automatic processing is currently limited to one eIDS form per EFS-Web submission. To improve processing and ensure that examiners receive all references, all citations should be contained within one eIDS form when possible. An individual eIDS form may contain a listing of (1) a combined total of 50 U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications, (2) 50 foreign patent documents, and (3) 50 NPLs. If more than one eIDS form is necessary, each additional eIDS should be filed as a separate follow-on submission in EFS-Web to enable automatic processing of the form. In a future release of EFS-Web, auto processing of multiple eIDS forms filed in a single submission will be provided.

Advisory (19AUG2009): Due to system maintenance, EFS-Web will be unavailable Saturday, August 22, midnight to 9AM Eastern Time.

Advisory (28JUL2009): Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 9.1.2, 8.1.6, and 7.1.3 can now be used to complete EFS-Web eForms (IDS, ADS, etc.). Currently supported versions remain compatible: Acrobat and Reader 7.0.8, 7.0.9, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.1.3, 8.1.4, 8.1.5, 9.0, 9.1 and 9.1.1. Adobe software updates can be downloaded from the Adobe Web site.

Advisory (20JUL2009):Due to the recent Private PAIR and EFS-Web Portal environment upgrade, previous bookmarks linking directly to the Authentication page need to be recreated. We recommend that users go to the Portal Home page at http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/home; Right-click on the link to the appropriate application (i.e. Private PAIR or EFS-Web); Select 'Add to favorites' to create new bookmarks directly to the Private PAIR and EFS-Web Authentication page.

Advisory (30MAR2009): Starting April 1, 2009, please use "Transmittal Letter" as the document description for the letter that accompanies the IDS form. The "Information Disclosure Statement Letter" document description will not be available after April 6, 2009, in order to simplify and improve internal document processing.

Advisory (16JAN2009): Effective Jan 21, 2009 at 9:00 AM, the USPTO is making a change to its firewall protocol settings to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. EFS-Web filers will need to check their web browser settings for SSLv3 and TLSv1. All EFS-Web compatible browsers (e.g. Microsoft IE 6.0, Firefox, Safari) support both SSLv3 and TLSv1. To check your browser settings in Microsoft IE 6.0 go to Browser menu bar and select Tools>Internet Options. Select the Advanced Tab on the far right. Find the Security section (near the bottom) and make sure the boxes labeled Use SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 are checked. The box labeled Use SSL 2.0 should be unchecked.  See Steps to enable the SSL3 and TLS1 settings.

ADVISORY (07NOV2008) : EFS-Web filers can now use the latest version of Adobe Reader, version 9.0, to complete EFS-Web fillable PDF forms. Submitting a Form-Fillable PDF via EFS-Web provides auto-loading of data directly into USPTO databases. In addition, realtime auto-processing is available for the following e-Petitions:

- SB66 Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37 CFR 1.378(c))
- SB130 Petition to Make Special based on Age.

EFS-Web fillable PDF forms remain compatible with previous Adobe Reader versions 7.0.8, 7.0.9, 8.1.1, and 8.1.2. Download Reader 9.0 from the Adobe Web site.

Advisory (07NOV08): Effective Nov. 1, 2008, applicants may select IP Australia (IPAU) as the International Search Authority (ISA) in international applications filed in the United States Receiving Office. International applications selecting IPAU as the ISA may be filed via EFS-Web. The ISA/AU search fee (Fee Code 1712) may also be paid via EFS-Web.

Advisory (24SEP08): The http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/efs/legal.htm EFS-Web Legal Framework has been updated to reflect enhancements introduced  in EFS-Web 1.4.

Advisory (03SEP2008): In a previous announcement, it was posted that EFS-Web would validate the PCT number and the international filing date entered in a 371 National Stage application. Unfortunately, this feature was not ready for production and was not deployed in the latest EFS-Web release.

Advisory (18AUG2008): New features available for e-filers as of 17AUG2008.  See EFS-Web 1.4 for details.

ADVISORY (10JUN2008) :When submitting a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Request, all documents (except preliminary amendments and information disclosure statements (IDSs) including foreign patent documents and non-patent literature) related to Patent Prosecution Highway should be indexed as "Petition to Make Special under Patent Pros Hwy." Unlike other filings, documents should not be separated. IDSs including foreign patent documents and non-patent literature should be indexed as “Information Disclosure Statement Filed,” “Foreign Reference,” and “NPL Documents,” respectively. Preliminary amendments should be indexed as “Preliminary Amendment.”

For more information about PPH, visit: http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm.

ADVISORY (02JUN2008) :Effective 28 April 2008, eligible applicants may participate in the First-Action Interview (FAI) Pilot Program. An interview under this pilot program would advance prosecution of the application because it would enhance the interactions between the applicant and the examiner, provide applicant the opportunity to resolve patentability issues one-on-one with the examiner at the beginning of the prosecution process, and facilitate possible early allowance. FAI enrollment requests must be filed via EFS-Web and should be index as First Action Interview - Enrollment Request under the First Action Interview Pilot category.  See the FAI web page for more information.

ADVISORY (22MAY2008) : The list of PDF creation software products following this paragraph is compatible with EFS-Web.  The USPTO does not endorse, certify, nor guarantee any of the products on this list; rather the USPTO is simply stating these products have been used in conjunction with EFS-Web filings and have no known compatibility problems. 

• Adobe Acrobat Professional
• ABXPDF Writer (Freeware)
• Open Office (Freeware)
• Easy Office (Ad ware)
• Cute PDF (Freeware)
• PDF Redirect (Freeware)
• PDF 995 (Ad ware)
• Primo PDF (Freeware)

PDF creation software programs that are not on this list may not be compatible with EFS-Web, and their use may result in document image degradation, processing delays, and/or notice from OPAP (Office of Patent Application Processing), formerly OIPE (Office of Initial Patent Examination).

ADVISORY (14APR2008) :Documents for the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program between USPTO and JPO, UK IPO, CIPO, KIPO and IPAU must be submitted via EFS-Web. Document description, Petition to make special under Patent Prosecution Hwy under the Petition category is available to index PPH requests. See JPO, UK IPO, CIPO, KIPO, and IPAU for more information on the PPH programs.

ADVISORY (20MAR2008) : The Petition for Expedited Foreign Filing License can now be filed via EFS-Web. This petition and all related documents should be indexed as Petition for Expedited Foreign Filing Licenses under the Petition category. Applicant is not required to refile application parts if the petition is for an existing application. .

ADVISORY (17FEB2008) : New features available for e-filers as of 17FEB2008. See EFS-Web 1.3 for details.

ADVISORY: The USPTO has noticed that some users are attaching the PTO-2038 form as a PDF along with their EFS-Web submission. Please be advised that this is not recommended and by doing so your credit card information may be displayed via PAIR. To protect your information, we recommend paying fees online by using the electronic payment method or attaching a fee sheet. PTO-2038 should only be faxed or mailed to the USPTO.

ADVISORY: How to Index Documents
The EFS Team has noticed many issues regarding the mis-indexing of documents. Please read these instructions to reduce errors when choosing document codes. Visit http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/tutorials.htm for a recorded Webinar presentation on document indexing.