Reminder: TARR and TDR are about to go offline; API

 IP Law Practice, USPTO  5 Responses »
Aug 302012
 

Per the notice at the top of TDR:

On August 25, 2012, the USPTO released version 2.0 of Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR). On September 1st, all existing direct (static) hyper-links displaying TARR information will be redirected to TSDR. On September 8th, all existing direct (static) hyper-links displaying TDR information will be redirected to TSDR. Soon thereafter, the web pages at http://tarr.uspto.gov/ and http://tdr.uspto.gov/ will no longer be accessible. Please send any questions to TSDR@USPTO.GOV. Additional information about the TSDR 2.0 deployment is available here: TSDR 2.0.

There is an API for the new TSDR, but I haven’t seen much documentation beyond the examples that were mentioned in the TSDR 2.0 FAQ:

Please let me know if you’ve seen any other API documentation out there…and I’ll update this post.

[UPDATE 2012-09-04]
I asked the USPTO last week if there was any additional documentation regarding the API. I was told that there is not.

From the above list (and looking at the XML), you can extrapolate the following:

The URLS start with: “http://tdrapi.uspto.gov/ts/cd”

Options include:

/casestatus/sn1234567/download.pdf [[status as a pdf]]
/casestatus/sn1234567/download.zip [[status as zip with xml and css files]]
/casestatus/sn1234567/content.html [[status as html]]
/casestatus/sn1234567/info.xml [[status as xml]]
/casedocs/bundle.pdf?sn=1234567 [[by serial number]]
/casedocs/bundle.pdf?rn=1234567 [[by registration number]]
/casedocs/bundle.pdf?ref=1234567 [[by USPTO reference number]]
/casedocs/bundle.pdf?ir=0835690 [[by international registration number]]
/casedocs/bundle.xml [[metadata in xml]]
/casedocs/bundle.zip [[a ZIP of the original TIFF images]]
&date=1999-01-01 [[docs sent/received on a date]]
&fromdate=2006-01-01&todate=2006-12-31 [[docs sent/received in a date range]]
&type=SPE [[specimens]]
&type=DSC [[Design Search Code]]
&type=ORC [[Registration Certificate]]
&type=DRW [[Drawing]]
&type=NOP [[Notice of Publication]]
&type=APP [[Application]]
&sort=date:A [[sorted from earliers to latest]]
&category=RC [[Registration Certificate]]

multiple matters can be requested by adding them comma separated
/casedocs/bundle.pdf?sn=1234567,2345678

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 2:50 pm

Patent claim term glossaries

 IP Law Practice  2 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

Useful post: Free Patent Claim Term Glossaries

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 3:51 pm

Another upcoming seminar

 IP Law Practice  No Responses »
Mar 302012
 

Ron Slusky is again offering his two-day, CLE-accredited Invention Analysis and Claiming Seminar in Chicago on May 21-22, 2012. The seminar is based on his ABA-published book Invention Analysis and Claiming: A Patent Lawyer’s Guide. More information: www.sluskyseminars.com

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 3:13 pm

Patent Ethics MCLE on “Ethics issues with US patent and PCT powers of attorney”

 IP Law Practice  No Responses »
Mar 292012
 

Via Carl Oppedahl:

Need a few ethics CLE credits? Tired of having to get your ethics CLE credits by listening to or attending programs on subjects that have nothing to do with what you actually do for a living, which is intellectual property law? Well, here is one ethics CLE credit that relates to patents.

MCLE: Ethics issues with US patent and PCT powers of attorney

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 8:09 pm

Using Windows Calculator with dates

 Business & Tech Tips, IP Law Practice  3 Responses »
Mar 122012
 

How in the world did I not know this?

If you have the Windows Calculator program running [in Windows Vista, 7 or later], and press “Control +E,” it gives you the ability to calculate the difference between two dates.



[Via: Reddit]

Updated 2012-03-14 to add information re versions of Windows, and to add a second screenshot.

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 6:29 pm

Trademark Solicitations

 Info For Inventors, IP Law Practice, Lawsuits/Laws/Rules, USPTO  4 Responses »
Feb 232012
 

Another day at work is over…another handful of client questions about solicitations they received via e-mail or postal mail regarding trademark related services offered for sale.

I tell them the same thing I always do…send me a copy and I’ll glance at it for you, but the chances are that it is either an outright scam, or an offer for services they probably don’t need (e.g., the client I talked with last week that received a solicitation that included an offer to register their Service Mark with U.S. Customs).

It makes you wonder…how many trademark owners fall victim to these scams every year?

At least the old “Chinese domain name” scam looks fishy. But, the trademark service solicitations are a different thing. They’re very carefully drafted, clearly intending to either (1) trick the trademark owner into thinking the communication came from the Trademark Office itself, or (2) scare the trademark owner into thinking they need to take immediate action (and send the solicitation firm immediate payment).

When the problem was invention promotion companies, the Federal Trade Commission and USPTO stepped in and addressed it, issuing a number of different publications (such as THIS ONE, and THIS ONE, THIS ONE, and THIS ONE), and promulgating regulations/prosecuting the crooks accordingly. Of course, that wasn’t until hundreds of millions of dollars had been conned out of small inventors that action was taken. But at least they did something.

Where’s the USPTO on this issue (other than creating a short warning published on the USPTO website)? Where’s the FTC?

Other trademark attorneys are sick and tired of the inaction. They’ve decided to take matters into their own hands. Erik M. Pelton has started a petition. Another law firm (Leason Ellis LLP in New York) has actually filed a civil lawsuit against one solicitor.

At least one state, California, has a state statute meant to address issues like this: California Civil Code Section 1716. Sadly, my state (Idaho) doesn’t have such a statute. Does yours?

It’s time for trademark attorneys to start asking their clients to ALWAYS send copies of such solicitations to them. Then, we need to start forwarding them (with the client’s permission, of course) to our state representatives, Governors, and state Attorney Generals (along with a copy of the California statute), asking for similar “payment solicitation” legislation to be added to our respective states’ codes.

It’s time…

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 2:36 am

USPTO Webinar on the America Invents Act

 IP Law Practice, USPTO  No Responses »
Feb 172012
 

Via http://www.uspto.gov/news/webinar.jsp:

USPTO Director David Kappos and other members of the USPTO’s senior leadership team invite you to join them online for a live webinar examining implementation of the America Invents Act and the proposed USPTO patent fees announced earlier this month. The program will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. While some questions will be taken from the public during the live event, the public is encouraged to submit questions by noon, Thursday, February 16 by email to webinar@uspto.gov.
The address to participate in this online webinar is: https://uspto-events.webex.com/uspto-events/onstage/g.php?d=998930187&t=a
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
Event number: 998 930 187
Event password: 123456
Teleconference Information — Call-in toll number (US/Canada): +1-408-600-3600 Access code: 998 930 187

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 3:19 pm

Proposed USPTO Fee Increases

 Info For Inventors, IP Law Practice, USPTO  No Responses »
Feb 162012
 

Have you looked over the USPTO’s proposed fee increases yet (which were submitted in accordance with the Leahy‐Smith America Invents Act)?

Wow. Check out these changes:

  • Design patent application filing/examination/search fees increase from $530 to $1180.
  • RCE filing fee increasing from $930 to $1700.
  • Total maintenance fees (combined 4, 8 and 12 year) increase from $8710 to $12,800.
  • Notice of Appeal increase from $620 to $1500.
 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 10:01 pm

Training manual for new patent admin staff (and new associates)

 IP Law Practice  No Responses »
Jan 262012
 

A book I recently added to my “all patent practitioners should have” list is Susan Stiles’ “Patent Professional’s Handbook.”

Stiles’ book is a complete instruction manual for new patent staff: explaining the entire patenting process and terminology, walking them through (step-by-step) how to file something via EFS-Web, and includes quite a few flowcharts, checklists, and form letters. It is a great resource for new staff (and new patent attorneys).

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 10:17 pm

USPTO E-Mail and Your Spam Folder

 IP Law Practice, USPTO  3 Responses »
Jan 252012
 

All practitioners should add commonly used USPTO email addresses to their email client’s address book. Why? To decrease the chances that your email client will filter legitimate email (“ham”) into your junk (“spam”) folder.

I started a list of such “commonly used” email addresses a few months ago. Thanks to this USPTO Notice on , I have some more to add to my list (below). The USPTO Notice even provides step-by-step instructions…

The list:

  • ptas@uspto.gov
  • PRG@uspto.gov
  • TEAS@USPTO.GOV
  • TMPOSTPUBQUERY@USPTO.GOV
  • TMII2455@NX.USPTO.GOV
  • TMOfficialNotices@uspto.gov
  • TrademarkOfficialNotices@uspto.gov
  • eCom101@uspto.gov
  • eCom102@uspto.gov
  • eCom103@uspto.gov
  • eCom104@uspto.gov
  • eCom105@uspto.gov
  • eCom106@uspto.gov
  • eCom107@uspto.gov
  • eCom108@uspto.gov
  • eCom109@uspto.gov
  • eCom110@uspto.gov
  • eCom111@uspto.gov
  • eCom112@uspto.gov
  • eCom113@uspto.gov
  • eCom114@uspto.gov
  • eCom115@uspto.gov
  • eCom116@uspto.gov
  • eCom117@uspto.gov

If you know of any others (particularly patent related), please let me know.

UPDATE (2012-01-25) – here are downloads you can use to expedite this process: Outlook CSV Format and Google CSV Format.

 Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at 6:02 pm
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