Status of Certification Services

   On November 28, 1995, the Office published an Official Gazette Notice
entitled "Temporary Suspension of At Cost Services for Orders for
Certified Copies" (1180 OG 121) to advise practitioners and the public
of delays in filling orders for certified copies of PTO documents. This
is an update of actual calendar days to mail for orders filled during
the month of December 1998:

Certified Product                    Goal        Actual Calendar
                                                 Days to Mail

Patent Application-As-Filed,
Expedited                             7           6
Patent Application-As-Filed,
Regular                              17           9
Patent Related File Wrapper          25          60*
Patent Copy                          10           4
Patent Assignments                   10           5

Trademark Application-As-Filed,
Expedited                             7           5
Trademark Application-As-Filed,
Regular                              17           7
Trademark Related File
Wrapper                              25          22
Trademark Assignments                10          10
Trademark Registration,
Expedited                             5           4
Trademark Registration, Regular      14           5

* Includes turnaround times for files on official search and file
reconstruction.

During the month of December 1998, a total of 9,906 orders (18,597
copies) were filled and closed, or 59 orders more (1,738 copies less)
than the FY-99 planning number of 9,847 orders (20,335 copies) to be
closed for this month. The average turnaround times for products has
returned to expected ranges.

Due to varying availability of media, customers will not be advised when
orders are not delivered within the published goal periods. However,
customers will be advised if any unexpected delay in their order has
been identified. Customers should use the above actual days to mail for
each product as a guide as to when they can expect their orders. In
determining expected delivery times, the day an order is received in the
Office is calculated as "day zero." The next business day is "day one."

Delivery of any specific copy will vary based on the availability of
scanned images, microfilm products, and/or file accessibility. On June
10, 1997, the Office published an Official Gazette Notice entitled
"Changes in Practice in Supplying Certified Copies and Filing Receipts"
(1199 OG 39) which advised customers who place orders for certified
copies of patent applications-as-filed not to request them until the
official filing receipt is received; images and related bibliographic
data are not available to Certification Division until the filing
receipt is generated by the Office of Initial Patent Examination.

Customers are encouraged to fax orders for copies directly to
Certification Division at (703) 308-9759 and to pay by PTO Deposit
Account, MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover. Information on
the status of pending orders may be obtained by calling (703) 308-9726
or 1 (800) 972-6382 (outside the Washington, DC Metro area), or via
E-mail: certdiv@uspto.gov.

January 19, 1999                                           WESLEY H. GEWEHR
                                              Administrator for Information
                                                              Dissemination