Starting November 15, 2023, the Patent Center system fully replaced EFS-Web and Private PAIR. The Director noted that the Patent Center will pull all the steps of filing and managing a patent application together into one central system, and includes the following features to streamline the application process:
- No need to create a new account: you can use the USPTO.gov accounts and sponsorships that you’ve already created for EFS-Web and Private PAIR.
- The ability to upload your patent application specification, claims, abstract, and drawings in a single DOCX document without having to manually separate sections.
- The ability to upload multiple documents at once using the drag and drop interface.
- The ability to download multiple documents at one time in a single PDF or ZIP file.
- The ability to confirm the status of submitted documents and successful payments with separate submission and payment receipts.
- In addition, if you want to get familiar with Patent Center’s features without actually submitting anything, you can explore Training Mode, an interactive simulation to safely practice filing DOCX and PDF documents. You’ll also receive real-time feedback.
You may access an on-demand recording of a previous Patent Center Training session to learn more about filing and managing patent applications and the Top 25 questions and answers from prior sessions held August 1, 2023 through November 2, 2023.