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<p>Maybe you already figured out that it is very risky to file in
DOCX. Maybe you figured out that it is far better to just give up
and pay the $400 non-DOCX penalty so that you can use the trusted
PDF path that you have been trusting for the past twenty years.
(Or $180 or $60 for small and micro entities.) If so, then you
may safely skip this webinar that will take place on Wednesday,
February 21.<br>
</p>
<p>But maybe you somehow still think that there are circumstances in
which you can avoid having to pay the $400 non-DOCX penalty and be
safe. If so, then maybe this is because you believe one or
another of these myths about DOCX.</p>
<ul
style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; list-style: disc; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Libre Franklin", "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Myth #1.</em></strong>
<span> </span><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">A PDF is a
PDF, right?</em> Surely the auxiliary PDF that is provided by
the filer in the<span> </span><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">DOCX-plus-aux-PDF</em><span> </span></strong>path
protects the filer just as fully as the PDF that is provided by
the filer in the<span> </span><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">legacy-PDF</em><span> </span></strong>path?
The answer is “no”.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Myth #2. </em></strong><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Past results
are a guarantee of future performance, right? </em><span> </span>If
a practitioner did a few DOCX filings in the past, scrutinizing
the apparent results closely, and did not identify any USPTO
rendering mistakes, surely this means that there is no need for
the practitioner to carry out close scrutiny of such apparent
results in future DOCX filings? The answer is “no”.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Myth #3.</em></strong> <span> </span><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Close
scrutiny during the e-filing process will suffice to avoid
risks, right? </em><span> </span>In any particular future DOCX
filing, if during the e-filing process and before clicking
“submit”, the practitioner closely scrutinizes the intermediate
results, and does not identify any USPTO rendering mistakes,
surely this means that any down-the-line risks have been
successfully avoided and it is safe to click “submit”? The
answer is “no”.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Myth #4.</em></strong><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"> </strong><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Microsoft
Word is safe, right? </em><span> </span>When the USPTO first
announced its DOCX initiative in 2018, the USPTO made no secret
of what it really wanted, which is for filers to purchase and
use Microsoft Word for the DOCX filings. Surely this means that
if I use Microsoft Word for DOCX filings, I am safe? The answer
is “no”.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Myth #5. </em></strong><em
style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">If I keep it
simple, then I am risk-free, right?</em> If the patent
application that I am getting ready to file contains no tables,
no math formulas, no chemistry structures, and no Greek letters,
then there’s nothing to go wrong and I might as well file in
DOCX, thus saving the $400, right? The answer is “no”.</li>
</ul>
<p>Attend this webinar, on Wednesday, February 21, in which we will
dispel these five myths. For more information, or to register,
click <a
href="https://blog.oppedahl.com/webinar-five-myths-about-filing-us-patent-applications-in-docx/">here</a>.<br>
</p>
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