[Patentpractice] Interesting notice from USPTO re data breach

[Carl Oppedahl]

This notice says:

    Inquiries regarding this matter may be directed ... via email
    addressed to ugPto.gov.

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.

On 4/28/2024 3:39 AM, Dan Feigelson via Patentpractice wrote:
> I got the following in one of my cases. Supposedly posted yesterday 
> (Saturday, April 27)
>
> *Notice of Potential Erroneous Release of Patent Application Titles*
>
> On February 5, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
> (USPTO), replaced the Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) and 
> Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) with Assignment Center.
>
> Between February 5, 2024 and March 29, 2024, the USPTO, 
> unintentionally, through a computer programming error, permitted 
> bibliographic information to be viewed by unauthorized individuals 
> with access to registered Assignment Center accounts. This 
> bibliographic information was limited to the application number (the 
> two-digit series code plus the six-digit serial number) and title of 
> the invention.
>
> You are receiving this notification because your application ’spatent 
> title may have been viewed during that time frame by individual(s) who 
> lacked permission to do so . The software error was first reproduced 
> by USPTO on March 28, 2024, and was corrected on March 29, 2024. Only 
> application numbers and titles were disclosed; it is important to note 
> that your specification and claims were not part of the information 
> made available and were not accessed.
>
> Any improper access of the application information between the dates 
> of February 5, 2024 and March 29, 2024, is not considered a 
> publication of such applications under 35 U.S.C. 122(b). No rights in 
> United States patents are threatened by the access to unpublished 
> applications. It is extremely unlikely that the title could disclose 
> the invention in a way that would constitute patent- defeating prior 
> art in any jurisdiction. To the extent any issue is raised, the USPTO 
> will assist applicants by confirming that the disclosure was erroneous 
> and inadvertent.
>
> We’re committed to data security and are taking enhanced steps to 
> prevent incidents such as this from happening in the future. The USPTO 
> sincerely regrets this error and is instituting more testing controls, 
> both manual and automated testing, to prevent similar processing 
> errors in the future.
>
> Inquiries regarding this matter may be directed to Mark Polutta, 
> Senior Legal Advisor, at (571) 272-7709 or Andrew Stclair, Legal 
> Advisor, at (571) 270-0238, both of the Office of Patent Legal 
> Administration or via email addressed to ugPto.gov.
>
> Henry “Jamie” Holcombe
> Chief Information Officer
> US Patent and Trademark Office
> Office +1 (571)272-9400
>
> Dated: April 27 th , 2024
>
>
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