On February 27, the United States Patent Office (USPTO) announced its transition to issuing electronic patent grants (eGrants) effective April 18, 2023. Official notice is in the Federal Register. Instead of patents being issued on paper and mailed to the correspondence address of record, the eGrants will be made available exclusively in electronic form through the USPTO’s Patent Center.
According to the USPTO, the primary reasons for issuing eGrants is “to reduce pendency of patent applications, foster a green economy by reducing paper waste, and permit complete issued patents to be viewable and printable by both the applicants as well as the public immediately upon issuance in Patent Center.”
While the eGrants will be the official patent grant, the USPTO will provide a paper copy of the patent, referred to as a “ceremonial paper copy,” during a transition period. After the transition period, patent recipients may purchase for a nominal fee a ceremonial paper copy, a certified copy, and a presentation copy (first page of the patent suitable for display). The length of the transitional period is not determined yet.
The USPTO cautions that eGrants may reduce the time which applicants can file continuation applications and recommends that such applications be filed before payment of the issue fee.
For more information on this announcement, please contact Fitch Even partner Mark W. Hetzler, author of this alert.
Fitch Even IP Alert®
Mark W. Hetzler
Mark W. Hetzler is the Managing Partner at Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery. Over the past 20+ years, Mark has earned a reputation for handling difficult and sophisticated intellectual property matters.
