The 7 Most Common US Patent Docketing Errors

The patent docketing process involves tracking and scheduling of due dates in a patent application process. These due dates are always critical as missing any deadline can lead to the abandonment of the patent application. The responsibility of a docketing professional becomes crucial here. The docketing professional must update the docketing system with accurate due dates ALWAYS.

Together with the accuracy of the dates, it is vital to enter bibliographic details correctly. And yes, it is equally crucial to update the dates on time. Imagine, if we docket the exact dates but after passing the deadline which sometimes is of just five days. Of course, in this situation, your docketing is of no use. I understand this as I handled many such requests in the past. I always ask my team to notify the client via an urgent email in all such time pressing situations.

Understanding the importance of accurate docketing: a docketing professional must accurately docket all due dates associated with filing a response to the notices and payment of issue fees, etc. Missing of even a single due date (unintentionally) while performing patent docketing might result in increased expenses (because of PTO penalty) and delay in the grant of the patent.

I am sharing my experience wherein I believe the following seven documents need special care as these pop-ups quite frequently at the time of docketing. Here is the list:

1. Notice of Allowance/Notice of Allowability

2. Informational Notice to Applicant

3. Office Actions

4. Filing Receipts

5. Notice of Panel Decision

6. Examiner and Applicant Initiated Interview Summaries

7. Notice of Appeal

I firmly believe that the errors while docketing these documents can be avoided by thorough understanding and meticulously reading of the complete documents. Further, all the notices should be reviewed at least 2-3 times so that we generate accurate deadlines in the docketing system.

With accurate and timely patent docketing we can avoid unnecessary expenses including extension fees etc. and abandonment. High-quality docketing is peace of mind for everyone.

We will discuss each of these documents one by one and explain their process of docketing in our next articles. We will publish these under new articles week after week. Stay tuned! In the meantime, read about our Patent and Trademark Docketing Services. 🙂

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