[Patentpractice] USPTO welcome letters

[Neil R. Ormos]

Dan Feigelson wrote:
> Suzannah K. Sundby wrote:

>> Agreed.

>> Imo, the Welcome Letters are Vidal trying to justify herself... "But we're
>> nice and welcoming... <shows letter>... even if our software 'improvements' are
>> not user friendly..."

> How difficult would it be for the system to determine if the ADS is signed
> by a practitioner, and to not send the letter in such a case?

> Too difficult for the PTO, apparently.

The letter mentions that the "Office action includes a 'rejection'".

If the PTO has "business logic" automation that recognizes that the action that triggers the letter includes a rejection, it would seem trivial to also recognize that the applicant is not /pro se/, either from the ADS (as Dan F suggests) or from the presence of a Customer Number in an address field. 

(Am I giving the PTO too much credit?  Do they send Welcome Letter TWO even upon first actions that do not reject any claims?)