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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">All –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">I believe this was discussed previously, but not sure to what extent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">I am looking at an office action from the USPTO right now and I see the following dates in Patent Center all associated with this single office action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Apparently, this office action has:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">A “Date Mailed” of 17 November 2023;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">A “Notification Date” of 11/22/2023;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">An “Image Date” in the Correspondence section of Patent Center of 11/20/2023; and<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The filename of the document when downloaded includes a date stamp of 11-21-2023<o:p></o:p></span></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">So that same document apparently has four different dates associated with it (November 17, 20, 21, and 22).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The USPTO Correspondence Notification emailed to us indicating this office action arrived on 11/22 and includes a “Mailroom Date” field of 11/22 – the same as the “Notification
Date” on the action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">I believe that the shortened statutory period should run from the date we were notified of the action, and not the phony “Date Mailed” that was 5 days earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">However, the Action explicitly states that the shortened statutory period runs from the MAILING DATE (the earliest listed date), rather than the date we were actually notified
of the Action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">A quick internet search yielded this Federal Register citation from April 5, 2023 relating to the Patent Center Electronic Office Action Program (<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/05/2023-07087/patent-center-electronic-office-action-program">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/05/2023-07087/patent-center-electronic-office-action-program</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The notice states:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="text-indent:.5in">4. When does the time period for reply start?<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in" id="p-26">Generally, any time period for reply set forth in the Office communication will commence on the mailroom/notification date indicated on the form PTOL–90 accompanying the Office communication. The mailroom/notification
date is treated like the mailing date of a paper communication. More specifically, for Office actions under
<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/132" target="_blank">35 U.S.C. 132(a)</a>, the mailroom/notification date is the date of the notice under
<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/35/133" target="_blank">35 U.S.C. 133</a>. See Electronic Office Action, 1343 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office at 46. The mailroom/notification date will also be considered the date of mailing of the correspondence for all
other purposes ( <em><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">e.g.,</span></em><a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.71#p-1.71(g)(2)" target="_blank">37 CFR 1.71(g)(2)</a>,
<a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.97#p-1.97(b)" target="_blank">
1.97(b)</a>, <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/section-1.701" target="_blank">
1.701</a>–1.705). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">So I think it is correct that the shortened statutory period runs from the Notification Date, but still feel nervous about potential problems if this response is submitted beyond
a date calculated from the earlier Mailing Date.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Perhaps there are good reasons to have all of these different dates from the USPTO’s perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">However, from a practitioner’s perspective, I would think that all of these dates are irrelevant except for the Notification Date – which is the only date that matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Do I care when the Examiner supposedly completed work and stamped a “Mailing Date” on the action?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Do I care when the USPTO scans the image?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Do I care about the date in the filename of the document saved in Patent Center?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">I think the answer to all of those are: No, I do not care in the least.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">That being the case, it would be helpful for all of those other dates to be hidden from my view to prevent confusion or worse, docketing errors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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