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<p>Thank you for posting. And I am sorry to hear of the USPTO
serving you and your client so poorly.</p>
<p>The specific problem you face (physical certified copy failing to
show up in IFW even after some weeks at the USPTO) is an example
of a more general problem, which is the USPTO mail room failing to
do its job.</p>
<p>I have a large number of patent files for which I needed to get
new Powers of Attorney recognized. This is for a transfer-in of
this group of files from previous US patent counsel. I sent the
Powers of Attorney to the USPTO via Postal Service. The USPS
says it delivered the package to the USPTO on October 2, 2024.
Checking my calendar, it is now December 15, 2024. Not one of the
POAs has gotten scanned in to IFW. Not one of the POAs has been
acted upon.</p>
<p>I have made repeated calls to the (misnamed) Application
Assistance Unit over the past nine weeks. Some of the AAU people
who handled my calls said that they somehow know that the mail
room has delays of "six to eight weeks". Those AAU people said I
simply must cool my heels and wait until the mail room gets around
to opening my mail and scanning the contents into IFW. <br>
</p>
<p>This is not an isolated instance. I have had half a dozen
situations in the past several years where a physical document or
demonstrative exhibit has languished for months at the USPTO
before being acted upon by the mail room or downstream personnel.<br>
</p>
<p>An external observer can only speculate as to the cause or causes
of this service failure. I suspect three factors contribute:</p>
<ul>
<li>The USPTO had a falling-out with Reed Publishing a few years
ago, which was linked to the USPTO deciding to self-publish
issued patents rather than paying Reed to do it, and Reed was
also contracted for many years to run USPTO's mail room, and
then Reed either quit the mail room work or got fired from the
mail room work, and the falling-out probably led to nobody
running the mail room any more.</li>
<li>Covid happened and everybody at the USPTO switched to
work-from-home. And WFH is inconsistent with running a mail
room and handling physical documents and the like.</li>
<li>General incompetence at the USPTO at doing seemingly simple
things like figuring out how many staff are needed in the mail
room and providing that number of staff and training them and
providing scanning stations and the like.</li>
</ul>
<p>See
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://blog.oppedahl.com/sluggishness-of-uspto-workflow-for-inbound-faxes/">https://blog.oppedahl.com/sluggishness-of-uspto-workflow-for-inbound-faxes/</a>
for a related service failure at the USPTO. <br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/15/2024 4:17 AM, William Ahmed
via Patentpractice wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:505318416.1838789.1734261446371@mail.yahoo.com">
<div class="yahoo-style-wrap">
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Dear Friends,</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">FACT-PATTERN (background)</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(1a) One of our cases
recently got allowed -- this was a 111 bypass [CIP] of a PCT.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(2a) The PCT claimed priority
to a non-US priority application [let's call this non-USA
country "Country X"]</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(3a) For some reason, the
PCT-filing attorney never obtained a PDAS code - they simply
filed the PCT in the receiving office of "Country X," and
Country X's receiving office provided it to WIPO.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(4a) An interim copy was
electronically submitted via EFS-web within 4 months of CIP
filing. </div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(5a( I confess that we were
NOT diligent about submitting the paper certified copy and
waited until allowance.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">FACT-PATTERN (CURRENT STATUS
)</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(1b) We still have plenty of
time until the issue-fee deadline - about two months [Rule 55
requires that "a certified copy of the foreign application
must still be filed during the pendency of the application"]</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(2b) Our plan (is)(was) to
Fedex a paper certified copy to the USPTO before paying the
issue-fee.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(3b) we actually FEDEXED the
certified copy to the address in the APPENDIX below.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(4b) the USPTO signed for it
about two weeks ago. We have "proof of delivery" [they signed
for at 9 PM on a particular day]</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">(5b) two weeks later, we
cannot see the paper certified copy in the file wrapper.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Even though we have time to
'correct' and to re-send, we would like to figure out what
happened.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">MY QUESTION --> Does
anyone have experience with this? Please advise.</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Many thanks,</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Bill</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">APPENDIX</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">We obtained a paper certify
copy and FedExed it to:</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">
<div>
<div><span>United States Patent and Trademark Office</span></div>
<div><span>Customer Service Window, Mail Stop Amendment</span></div>
<div><span>Randolph Building 401 Dulany Street</span></div>
<div><span>22314 ALEXANDRIA Virginia</span></div>
<div><span>UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</span></div>
</div>
<div><span><br>
</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span>They SIGNED signed
for it and we have the Fedex "proof of delivery" (which is
probably worthless until we see priority document online
at Patent Center).</span></div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="moz-mime-attachment-header"></fieldset>
</blockquote>
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