<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">Hi! I had the same issue, but didn’t realize it. I submitted an 85b and could not figure out why the patent didn’t issue. After four months I got a phone call from Publications saying I had not submitted an 85b. I checked Patent Center and it was there. Then I saw the missing slash. I have no idea why Preview does this, but so does Acrobat which I tend to use more than Preview. Now I am vigilant about the slash.<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage"><div>
<div dir="auto" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div>Patricia P. Werschulz, Esq.<br>pat@wplllc.com</div></div><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span><img alt="0028 nano.jpg" src="cid:4DFFC796-B731-43C9-8878-33762D166F5E@home"></span><span><img alt="PastedGraphic-3.tiff" src="cid:2E66D03D-6C22-4665-A85F-C93206EC295E@home"></span><div dir="auto" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br>WERSCHULZ PATENT LAW, LLC</div><div>*120 Myrtle Avenue<br>North Plainfield, NJ 07060<br>*1115 Broadway, 12th Floor<br>New York, NY 10010<br>*Gad Tadeski 7<br>Apt. 28<br>Jerusalem 93786007<br>Israel<br>908 313-2347<br><br><br></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
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<div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>On 7 May 2024, at 19:14, George Jakobsche via Patentcenter <patentcenter@oppedahl-lists.com> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><meta charset="UTF-8"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It seems Preview on a Mac drops the first character entered into a fillable PDF form field, if the first character entered is a slash. This is not apparent in the Preview window. However, closing and re-opening the document reveals that the slash is gone. I tested this with USPTO fillable PDF forms and IRS fillable forms.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This poses a problem when entering an electronic signature (ex., “/Paul Practitioner, #00,0000/”). By experimenting, I found that if the first character is not a slash, for example if the first character is a space, the first slash is not dropped. Similarly, if the first two characters are both slashes, only the first one is dropped. So, the problem occurs only if the first character is a slash.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thus, to enter an electronic signature, either of the following entered strings would work:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“ /Paul Practitioner, #00,000/”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“//Paul Practitioner, #00,000/”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Does anyone know why Preview drops the first character, if it is a slash?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div><div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Best regards,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="border-width: medium medium 1.5pt; border-style: none none solid; border-color: currentcolor currentcolor windowtext; border-image: none; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">George<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">George Jakobsche Patent Counsel PLLC<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">39 Old Farm Road, Concord, MA 01742-5234<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:George@JakobscheLaw.com"><span style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">George@JakobscheLaw.com</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>| +1-978-245-8100<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">This e-mail is from George Jakobsche Patent Counsel PLLC, a law firm, and it may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, copy, or distribute this message or any attachment(s). Instead, please notify the sender and delete the message and the attachment(s). Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></div></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;">--<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;">Patentcenter mailing list</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><a href="mailto:Patentcenter@oppedahl-lists.com" style="font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Patentcenter@oppedahl-lists.com</a><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://oppedahl-lists.com/mailman/listinfo/patentcenter_oppedahl-lists.com" style="font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">http://oppedahl-lists.com/mailman/listinfo/patentcenter_oppedahl-lists.com</a></div></blockquote></div><br></body></html>