Status of Office of Public Records Services The Office of Public Records (OPR) processes and fills orders for both certified and uncertified copies of Patent and Trademark Office documents and records assignments and other documents related to title. This is an update of actual processing times during the month of December 2000: Document Services Goal Actual Processing Time Certified Documents Patent Application-As-Filed, Expedited 7 days 5 days Patent Application-As-Filed, Regular 17 days 12 days Patent Related File Wrapper 25 days 43 days* Patent Copy 10 days 7 days Patent Assignments 10 days 6 days Trademark Application-As-Filed, Expedited 7 days 5 days Trademark Application-As-Filed, Regular 17 days 11 days Trademark Related File Wrapper 25 days 37 days* Trademark Assignments 10 days 7 days Trademark Registration, Expedited 5 days 4 days Trademark Registration, Regular 14 days 7 days Uncertified Documents Expedited Patent Copies 1 day 1 day Regular Patent Copies 5 days 3 days Plant Patents 5 days 19 days*** Patent Assignments 10 days 0 days** Patent Related File Wrapper 25 days 24 days* Expedited Trademark Copies 1 day 1 day Regular Trademark Copies 5 days 1 day Trademark Assignments 10 days 0 days** Trademark Related File Wrappers 25 days 17 days* * Includes turnaround times for files on Official Search and File Reconstruction. ** No orders for these products were filled this month. *** Includes three plant patent orders which required reprinting. Note: Goals for Uncertified Regular Patent Copies, Plant Patent Copies and Regular Trademark Copies have been recalibrated from business days to calendar days. The change does not affect the level of service. All goals and actual processing times for all products are now shown in calendar days. During the month of December 2000, a total of 17,199 public orders (27,574 copies) were filled and closed, or 3,402 orders more (10,982 copies less) than the FY-01 planning number of 13,797 orders (38,556 copies) to be closed for this month. The average turnaround times for products remain in 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 c alculated as "day zero." The next business day is "day one." Customers are encouraged to fax orders for copies directly to the Document Services Division at (703) 308-9759 and to pay by PTO Deposit Account, MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover. Copy orders may also be placed through the Internet by accessing the PTO home page at www.uspto.gov and selecting the "Order Copies" option. 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: dsd@uspto.gov. Assignment Services The Assignment Division is currently mailing recordation notices for documents received in the Office of Public Records on November 5, 2000. The cycle time to process, record, and mail notices is 55 calendar days. January 10, 2001 PATRICK ROWE, Director Office of Public Records