Since our previous communication of June 5, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced in an email to stakeholders that it is pressing ahead with implementation of the $400 non-DOCX filing (surcharge) fee effective January 17, 2024.
Recall that regular U.S. utility nonprovisional application filings not filed in DOCX format will incur a $400 USPTO surcharge starting on January 17, 2024. However, U.S. provisional, design, and national stage applications may still be filed in PDF format on or after January 17, 2024, without incurring the $400 USPTO surcharge.
The USPTO also reiterated that “[t]he option for applicants to provide a backup PDF, or auxiliary PDF, version of their application with their DOCX version remains available. There are no fees associated with providing the backup PDF.” This information also appears on the USPTO’s DOCX information page, available here. And according to a previous announcement from the USPTO, available here, “should applicants prefer, they can rely on the backup PDF to verify the substance of their original filing,” however, “there is no obligation to provide one.”
We will keep you updated as more information about the USPTO DOCX transition becomes available.