[Patentpractice] PDF forms issue

[Carl Oppedahl]

Same here.  See screen shot below.  Acrobat Pro 2017 is installed on my 
notebook computer.   I paid a one-time fee a long time ago for this 
software for a paid-up license.  Adobe nowadays does not, for any amount 
of money, nowadays offer a way to get a new install of Acrobat that is 
(a) installed on your computer rather than in a cloud, and (b) can be 
paid for once and then you have a paid-up license.

I imagine that what is going on nowadays is that the USPTO people do not 
give a moment's thought to the consequences for users when they migrate 
to the newest version of Acrobat.  Probably what happens is that the 
USPTO people then update some fillable official USPTO PDF form (for 
example the inventor declaration) using the newest version of Acrobat.  
And Adobe has hidden some code in the newest version of Acrobat that 
make it so that when the fillable official USPTO PDF form gets updated, 
this newest version of Acrobat leaves tripwires inside the fillable 
official USPTO PDF form.  And then when a USPTO customer tries to make 
use of a version of Acrobat that is not the newest /*paid-for */version, 
it pukes or crashes or freezes.

Twenty years ago, when the USPTO launched EFS-Web, the USPTO's promise 
to users was that any and all functions of the fillable official USPTO 
PDF forms could be carried out by using the free version of Acrobat.

I am pretty sure the USPTO has by now betrayed that promise.  I am 
pretty sure that the USPTO's revisions to its fillable official USPTO 
PDF forms have led to a situation where the only way to make use of the 
forms is by means of /*paid-for*/ Acrobat, and not only that, the only 
way to make use of the forms is by means of /*recurring-cost*/ Acrobat.

On 4/19/2024 8:42 AM, Suzannah K. Sundby via Patentpractice wrote:
>
> Me thinks/suspects that Adobe might be intentionally causing “issues” 
> so that users decide to update their software… which I think they 
> offer _subscription_ only now.
>
> Hence, I’m trying to stick with my Adobe Acrobat Pro 2017 desktop 
> software for as long as possible.
>
>
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