USPTO Launches "PAIR" Enhancements

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has added new features to its Patent Application Information Retrieval ("PAIR") system.

The PAIR system provides customers with direct access to patent application status information via the Internet. There are two components of PAIR: Public and Private. Public PAIR provides status and history information for issued patents and published applications to the general public. Private PAIR provides independent inventors, registered patent attorneys, and patent agents with secure, real-time status information for unpublished patent applications.

Both Public and Private PAIR now offer the following features:

• Easier Publication Searches – Kind Codes are no longer required when conducting a publication number searches.
• Updated Documentation – The on-line "Help" and "Frequently Asked Questions" sections have been updated to include the newest features.
• Detailed Search Error Messages

Private PAIR has also been further enhanced to include:

• Links to assignment data on the Application, Patent, and Publication details screen.
• "Printer Friendly" options for certain screens.
• Attorney Docket Numbers on Outgoing Correspondence Notifications.
• Expanded Publication Review Options.

To register for access to Private PAIR, customers must first obtain a Customer Number and a Public Key Infrastructure ("PKI") Certificate. Once the Customer Number and PKI Certificate have been obtained, customers must also associate their current patent applications with the Customer Number. Forms and instructions for registering for Private PAIR are available on the USPTO Internet’s "PAIR New Users Page."

For more on the latest USPTO procedures contact Bill Heinze (bill.heinze@tkhr.com), at Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley LLP in Atlanta, Georgia USA, or via the new "I/P Updates" news service with RSS and Atom feeds.