[Patentpractice] Assignment Center Upgrade

[Robert Blaha]

Carl,

For at least one matter that I checked, the link to PPUBS under the US Application number returns no hits in the patent public search database. Whereas, the PPUBS link under the Publication number in the Abstract of title did locate and open the patent application publication. Similar to your matter the PCT number is identified as N/A and the International number is also labeled N/A.

Is there a difference between a PCT number and an International number?

Best regards,

Bob

Smith Tempel Blaha LLC
Email: rblaha at srtslaw.com

From: Patentpractice <patentpractice-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Carl Oppedahl via Patentpractice
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 4:32 AM
To: For patent practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <patentpractice at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Carl Oppedahl <carl at oppedahl.com>
Subject: Re: [Patentpractice] Assignment Center Upgrade

On 10/21/2025 6:40 PM, Scott Nielson via Patentpractice wrote:
Do you have any feedback on the new assignment center? I haven't explored it thoroughly yet, but it seems that searching for assignments, which previously had issues, is working now.

It's clear that the USPTO did no regression testing or meaningful beta testing of the new Assignment Center.

To give one example, just now I selected at random one of our pending cases that is the national phase of a PCT application.

In the old assignment search system, which has now been shut down, I could plug in my choice of either the PCT number or the US-series application number.  Either of the two searches yielded the reel and frame number.

But in the new Assignment Center, the search using the PCT number wrongly comes back empty.  In contrast, the US-series application number yields the reel and frame number.

It's worse than that, I just realized.  The Abstract of Title that Assignment Center gave me for the US-series application number has a field for the PCT number.  And this field in the Abstract of Title says "N/A" when of course it should list the PCT number.

If the developers got these two things wrong (and they did), then I cringe to think how many other things they may have gotten wrong.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/patentpractice_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20251022/34fb4539/attachment.html>