(321) USPTO Transitions to Issuing Electronic Certificates of Correction
for Patents
Summary
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented
electronic patent issuance on April 18, 2023, to foster a green economy by
reducing paper waste, and to permit issued patents to be viewable and
printable by both patent owners and the public immediately upon issuance in
the Patent Center. See USPTO Officially Transitions to Issuing Electronic
Patent Grants in 2023, Final rule, 88 FR 12560 (February 28, 2023). Since
that time, the USPTO has issued over 200,000 electronic patent grants. The
USPTO continually looks for opportunities to streamline and improve its
processes. In order to streamline its process of publishing certificates of
correction, reduce paper waste, and permit issued certificates of
correction to be viewable and printable by both patent owners and the
public immediately upon issuance in the Patent Center, the USPTO will begin
issuing certificates of correction for patents electronically, similar to
how it now issues electronic patent grants.
Background
The USPTO issues certificates of correction for patents under seal
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 254, 35 U.S.C. 255, and 35 U.S.C. 256. Currently, a
certificate of correction is issued in paper and mailed to the
correspondence address of record. Upon issuance of a paper certificate of a
correction, an image of the certificate of correction is entered into the
file wrapper and added to the image of the patent in the patent database at
www.uspto.gov/PatentPublicSearch. Additionally, the USPTO lists patents
subject to a certificate of correction in the Official Gazette. See section
1485, subsection I, of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) (9th
Edition, Rev. 07.2022, February 2023).
Process Change
As part of the continued move toward total electronic processing, the
USPTO will issue certificates of correction for patents electronically
beginning January 30, 2024. The electronic certificate of correction will
be the official certificate of correction issued under seal as provided for
by the applicable statute. The USPTO will make electronic certificates of
correction available in both the public and private views of Patent Center
on the certificate's date of issuance. Therefore, the public and the patent
owner will be able to immediately view the official electronic certificate
of correction. The USPTO will not mail a paper copy of the certificate of
correction.
Patents issued on or after April 18, 2023, are issued electronically,
whereas patents issued before April 18, 2023, were issued on paper. All
certificates of correction for patents issued on or after January 30, 2024,
will be issued electronically, regardless of whether the patent was issued
on paper or electronically. The other practices incident to issuance of a
certificate of correction for notifying the public and the patent owner, as
detailed in the Background section above, will not change.
A notice will be sent to the patent owner to indicate that an electronic
certificate of correction has issued. If the patent is associated with a
Customer Number enrolled in the Patent Center Electronic Office (e-Office)
Action program, the USPTO will send an email notification of the
certificate of correction to the designated email addresses. Otherwise, the
USPTO will mail a notification that the certificate of correction has
issued to the correspondence address of record. The USPTO encourages
participation in the Patent Center e-Office Action program, and information
on joining is available at
www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/checking-application-status/e-office-action-
program.
 Top of Notices (321) December 31, 2024 |
US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE |
1529 CNOG 1945 |
Important Reminders
Procedural aspects of requesting certificates of correction and the
standards for granting the requests will not change. To request a
certificate of correction for a patent, the patent owner may use form PTO/
SB/44 together with a signed coversheet that explains the basis for the
request. For more information on certificates of correction, see sections
1480-1481.03 and 1485 of the MPEP.
Contact information
Any inquiry regarding this notice may be directed to Andrew St.Clair,
Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the
Commissioner for Patents, at 571-270-0238 or PatentPractice@uspto.gov.
December 19, 2023 KATHERINE K. VIDAL
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1518 OG 588]