<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:DengXian;
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@DengXian";
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I have started a campaign to get the USPTO to stop using color internally, and then pixelating it by screening to achieve a monochrome facsimile. Or, perhaps the USPTO could move to color IFW?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>This problem is especially bad for NPL references, which could simply be included as PDFs in their native format, but for bad choices made 40 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Why will the USPTO forsake its archaic and inefficient \u201cimage file wrapper\u201d format conceived in the 1990s based on 1980\u2019s standards?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>I alone do not have sufficient persuasion with the USPTO to effect a change, but perhaps a complaint from every practitioner who receives a document generated by the USPTO entered into the IFW that is unreadable document or cannot be OCRed, but could have been rendered in monochrome without screening/pixelation might help. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Very truly yours,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Steven M. Hoffberg<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Hoffberg & Associates<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>29 Buckout Road<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>West Harrison, NY 10604<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>(914) 949-2300 tel<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>(845) 625-2547 fax<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="mailto:steve@hoffberglaw.com"><span style='color:#0563C1'>steve@hoffberglaw.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hoffberg/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/hoffberg/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black;background:white'>Emails and attachments received from us may be confidential and/or protected by the attorney-client privilege, as attorney work-product or based on other privileges or provisions of law. If you are not designated as an intended recipient of this email, do not read, copy, use, forward or disclose the email or any of its attachments to others. Instead, immediately notify the sender by replying to this email and then delete it from your system. We strictly prohibit any unauthorized disclosure, copying, distribution or use of emails or attachments sent by us to other than the intended recipient.</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'> This communication does not create any legal obligations on behalf of the sender, unless executed in a manner indicating an intent to be bound.</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Patentpractice <patentpractice-bounces@oppedahl-lists.com> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Carl Oppedahl via Patentpractice<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, April 29, 2024 2:16 PM<br><b>To:</b> For patent practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <patentpractice@oppedahl-lists.com><br><b>Cc:</b> Carl Oppedahl <carl@oppedahl.com><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Patentpractice] Interesting notice from USPTO re data breach<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p>The reason the USPTO email address is barely readable is, the original PDF was in blue or some other non-monochrome color. And the CIO's Patent Center system halftoned the blue into blur.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>On 4/29/2024 11:05 AM, Dan Feigelson via Patentpractice wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=1 height=1 style='width:.0104in;height:.0104in' id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://gcfagjf.r.bh.d.sendibt3.com/tr/op/UKdnzUi_kj1eGptcUCbd_inwjf8fNANb5nO_JRbQnjUzbAPrDai52DwqWQBBak77sNyYg_5l4ZKGnydxu1sTiAcyFcnaZ29uXvyfCURrUHHjyAIrhzY_gtI7qDqTGOVCkdwwQXaqUf419lJcTCLOtt2TtxwILyNI-iA_he-Obm3Ry4lkzTGXGvRycqUAWZcjIG5BTBGPg1Y3BuWJE7x60US2SJ3c2VPXMTZi"><o:p></o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Carl, good catch, that was due to the OCR I did of the pdf that the PTO sent. Here's a screenshot of the actual paragraph:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><img border=0 width=559 height=57 style='width:5.8229in;height:.5937in' id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.png@01DA9A49.1ABF0F70"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Not sure why the uspto email address is barely readable...<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 11:49<span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>\u202f</span>PM Carl Oppedahl via Patentpractice <<a href="mailto:patentpractice@oppedahl-lists.com">patentpractice@oppedahl-lists.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p>This notice says:<o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p>Inquiries regarding this matter may be directed ... via email addressed to ugPto.gov.<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p>I am pretty sure if I were to address email "to ugPto.gov" it would fail to reach its destination. This does not instill confidence in our CIO.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></blockquote></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><br><br><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br /><table style="border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;"><tr><td style="width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank"><img src="https://s-install.avcdn.net/ipm/preview/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width: 46px; height: 29px;"/></a></td><td style="width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Virus-free.<a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank" style="color: #4453ea;">www.avast.com</a></td></tr></table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" width="1" height="1"> </a></div></body></html>