TEAS

WIZARD HELP INSTRUCTIONS

Serial Number

Enter the 8-digit USPTO assigned serial number; e.g., 78658234.

Registration Number

Enter the seven-digit USPTO registration number (e.g., 1234567). NOTE: Must be 7 digits. If necessary, add a leading "0". E.g., 0936427.

Directly

 The application will not be "signed" in the sense of a traditional paper document. To verify the contents of the application, the signatory will enter any alpha/numeric character(s) or combination thereof of his or her choosing in the signature block on the application form, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol. The USPTO does not determine or pre-approve what the entry should be, but simply presumes that this specific entry has been adopted to serve the function of the signature. Most signatories simply enter their names between the two forward slashes, although acceptable "signatures" could include /john doe/; /jd/; or /123-4567/.

Text Form

 NOTE: If you are completing the application yourself and will be signing the application, you do NOT need to use this option. Instead, simply complete the application and enter your signature directly within the posted form.

The "text form" is a narrative, paragraph-style version of the application information, absent any "tagged" data fields. It most closely resembles a traditional "Word/ WordPerfect" document, and is accessed from the Validation Screen once the application data is validated. The text form is designed to facilitate signature/date by another party, and no other data can be manipulated; i.e., the "web-based" form may be completed and validated, and then the resulting "text" form may be e-mailed to the proper signatory as a "hyperlink" (no "downloading" of a portable form is required). The signatory will sign and date the application by affixing the "electronic signature," consisting of an arbitrary alpha-numeric combination placed between two forward slash symbols (e.g., /john smith/). The signed version automatically is returned to the original preparer, who can then complete the submission process to the USPTO.
NOTE: From the point of validation, you must get the application signed, returned, and filed to the USPTO within two weeks. Otherwise, you must complete the process again. You can, however, download and save the portable form (available from the Validation Page) indefinitely.

Handwritten ("pen-and-ink") signature

 Through this method, the "text form" may be printed out and then mailed or faxed to the signatory, who will sign and date the form in the traditional "pen-and-ink" manner. Once the signed form has been mailed or faxed back to the preparer, this signed declaration must be scanned and re-attached as a JPG image file (the only image format acceptable) to the original electronic application; the complete application can then be validated and filed electronically.
NOTE: Under this option, the original application must be saved using the Download Portable form button on the Validation Page.

Previously-saved data:

You may only access here previously-saved data. Do NOT simply click on the icon for the saved form on your local drive, because that only will pull up a document displaying your information in the XML format. Instead, you must (1) go to the first page (the form wizard page), as if you were going to start a new form (even though you have already completed a form and saved it); (2) Click on the "Browse/Choose File" button that appears beneath the option for entering a registration number; (3) Using the displayed pop-up box, find the saved data on your local drive; (4) click on "Open;" (5) the file name should now appear in the window next to the "Browse/Choose File" button; (6) Click on the "NEXT" button at the very bottom of the page; and (7) the actual form, with all of your previously-entered data, will now display, EXCEPT for any attached images. Due to technical limitations within the browsers now available, and to simplify the process and prevent possible errors, all attached image files must be re-attached to the application before final submission to the USPTO. The USPTO has absolutely no control over this, and cannot modify the form in any way to prevent this: it is due strictly to the overall nature of a browser environment.

Extend the time limit

The 60-minute period is not an "absolute" period; i.e., you do not have to complete the form, start to finish, within 60 minutes. If the USPTO's server does not detect any activity at all within 60 minutes, it will end your session at the 60-minute point. HOWEVER, at 54 minutes into your session, you will receive a pop-up window warning you that your session will expire in six minutes (it will actually provide the precise "end" time within the window, such as 11:29:14 EST). To "renew" your session, you simply need to click on the "O.K." button at the bottom of the pop-up window, and you will automatically get another 60 minute time period. If you do not click on the button within the remaining six minutes of the session, your session will completely end at the 60-minute mark, and you will be returned directly to the initial form wizard to start the process again.