"Expedited Local" and "At Cost" Services
for Certified and Uncertified Copies
of Patent and Trademark Office Documents
Expedited Local Service
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) offers "expedited local service"
for three products: (1) uncertified patent and trademark copies; (2)
certified copies of both patent and trademark applications-as-filed; and
(3) certified copies of trademark registrations (status and title).
Customers can routinely order these expedited services, which are
specifically identified by separate codes in the PTO's fee schedule.
Orders for "expedited local service" on these three products may be
placed in one of four ways: (1) delivered in person to the Office of
Public Records (OPR) Customer Service Counter, Crystal Gateway 4, Suite
300; (2) placed in drop boxes located in PTO search room facilities; (3)
faxed to (703) 308-9759; or (4) delivered via overnight delivery
services directly to OPR at the following address:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Office of Public Records
Customer Service, 3rd Floor
1213 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Va. 22202
Orders marked "Expedite" within the product lines described above will
be processed as "regular service" orders if the correct fee does not
accompany the order. Please note that orders with notations such as
"Please Rush", "Urgent", or "Please Expedite", and which fall outside
the product lines offering "expedited local service," do not receive
special processing.
Customers should note that orders for "expedited local service" are
processed based on the date of receipt, not on the method of delivery to
OPR; fax and overnight delivery service orders have the same priority as
hand-delivered orders received on the same day. Similarly, completed
orders for "expedited local service" are closed and shipped without
regard to the requested delivery method or location.
At Cost Service
The Office's fee schedule does not specifically provide for other
expedited document delivery, largely because of the uncertainty and risk
involved in promising services for which either the media/papers to
satisfy the order or PTO staff support might not be available. However,
the Office recognizes that there are situations, such as litigation, due
dates imposed by foreign intellectual property offices, or pending
commercial transactions, which require an extraordinary level of service
in order to meet a most urgent deadline. Accordingly, the OPR practice
has been to receive and process these requests on a case-by-case basis,
and to charge for them based on the published product/service fee code,
plus a combination of "Labor Services" (484, 584) and "Other Services at
Cost" (485,585). This commonly has been referred to as "at cost service."
OPR's ability to provide "at cost" services for copies of patent and
trademark documents is based largely upon the ready availability of
source documents, either on microform or via access to electronic
images. Consequently, orders for copies of file wrappers and contents
usually cannot be accepted for filling on an "at cost" basis. While
every effort will be made to assist all customers, the PTO cannot always
guarantee delivery of documents on or before requested dates. Turnaround
time for this service is dependent on the scope and complexity of the
specific request, staff resources which can be diverted, and other
priority orders in inventory.
Requests for "at cost" services must be in writing and on letterhead
from the applicant, attorney of record, or the assignee. The letter must
state the reason for requesting "at cost" service, such as active
litigation or a pending commercial transaction. The letter must also
include the dates the documents are needed. Detailed
justification/disclosure of commercial or confidential business
information is not required, but there must be a clear sense of urgency
in the request.
Requests for "at cost" services may be placed in one of three ways: (1)
hand delivered to the OPR Customer Service Counter in Crystal Gateway 4,
Suite 300; (2) faxed to (703) 308-9759; (3) or sent via overnight
delivery service directly to OPR at the following address:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Office of Public Records
Customer Service, 3rd Floor
1213 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Va. 22202
Based on a review of the specific request, a Customer Service
Representative will contact the requester to discuss the feasibility of
meeting the deadline and the total cost involved. The minimum charge for
filling an "at cost" order for copies of patent and trademark documents
will be $120 (3 hours labor at $40 per hour), plus the published
product/service fee per copy. Customers will be asked to approve all
charges before any work begins. Customers sending requests via overnight
delivery services must specify payment via PTO deposit account,
MasterCard, or Visa. "Walkup" customers also may pay by check at the PTO
Office of Finance Cashier in Crystal Gateway 4 following discussions
with OPR Customer Services staff and acceptance of their order.
"At cost" service requests dropped at PTO search room locations or sent
to the general PTO address will be processed as "regular service"
orders. "At cost" orders are processed based on the date of acceptance,
not on the method of delivery to OPR; "at cost" requests sent via fax
and overnight delivery service go through the same review and acceptance
process as those hand-delivered. Regardless of which method is used to
transmit an "at cost" request, the customer designated point-of-contact
should have full authority to discuss the requirement; be able to
discuss the impact of any possible change in the expected due date; and
be authorized to make payment in full.
Completed "at cost" orders will be sent to the customer via overnight
delivery service to ensure continuous tracking while in transit and to
confirm receipt. On request, completed "at cost" orders may be picked
up/signed for at the OPR Customer Service Counter.
Questions concerning either "expedited local service" or "at cost"
services for copies of patent and trademark documents should be directed
to OPR Customer Service at (703) 308-9726, or via e-mail address at
certdiv@uspto.gov.
May 29, 1998 WESLEY H. GEWEHR
Administrator for
Information Dissemination