Searching using the USPTO website (TESS)

JSonnab...

What's "NOA"?  Notice of Allowance?  Why is that important and why would you want to search based on that?

- Jeff

tmr

Yes - NOA is the notice of allowance date.  I'd like to search on that date as a secondary method of confirmation that any due dates for Statements of Use or Extension Requests are not missed since the application is abandoned if the proper paperwork is not filed within 6 mos of the NOA date.  Obviously I'd be doing this only for my clients' pending applications and as a secondary method of confirmation.

Thanks for your response.

Lyza

The PTO does not allow for searches of the file histories, which is what you are looking for.  The core data is all that is searchable, i.e. applicant name, application/registration numbers and dates, attorneys of record, goods/services, classes, etc.

Tracking response deadlines and due dates is the function of a docket system or docket calendar.  The PTO does not calculate any response dates at all.  That is the responsibility of the applicant/registrant and/or counsel.  There are many docket systems out on the market with many different price points.  I would highly recommend that you look into getting one because you don't want to be dragged into court for missing a deadline.  Good luck.

Lyza

tmr

Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I am aware that
the PTO does not calculate deadlines etc.  As I stated previously, I was merely looking for a secondary method of
confirming deadlines for currently pending applications.  If the date were accessable, I could construct the query in such a way that would allow me to find a pending application with a deadline during a particular time period.  I've done this previously to find registrations with upcoming sec 8&15 or 8&9 due dates.

It just seems logical that if other important dates such as the filing date and registration date are stored and "searchable", it should be the same for the NOA date which in my mind is just as important.

OBTW - The TDR - Trademark Document Retrieval system will allow you to review file histories, including incoming and out going correspondence, for the more recently filed applications and registrations.

Thanks again for answering - I appreciate your interest in trying to help.

JSonnab...

I use custom written software that queries TARR and scra_pes the current status from the result page.  It also alerts me when the status of an application has changed (e.g., when a notice of allowance has issued).  It doesn't grab the document from TDR directly, but it does provide me with the TDR page for the application, so grabbing the document is easy enough.

- Jeff

tmr

Jeff,

Thanks for your input - I'm always looking for new ways to make the process more efficient.  It sounds like that might be a feasible alternative - even though I couldnt get the data I am looking for directly, I could certainly collect all the relevant client application info into a DB which I could then query as needed.  

Not to beat a dead horse - but it still makes sense to me to allow access to the NOA date (clearly it is stored somewhere).  As my mother would say it "just grates my socks" (translation: irrates the heck out of me) when something so simple and obvious is overlooked or ignored.

Oh well - C'est la vie!

Lyza

You mis-read my post.  I never indicated that you cannot look at the TDR and check out any document on file there (making up the file history).  My response to your original post was based on your request for a "field code to search for a particular NOA date in the Free Form (advanced) functionality of the TESS ..." system.  There are no "field code(s)" in TESS's online searching that will bring up the "Notice of Allowance - mailed" date listed in any Prosecution or File History of a TARR status record.

I understand your thinking that it would be logical to be able to search for a date that results in statutory deadlines, but they have not made that happen yet.  You might want to consider writing to the Commissioner with the suggestion that a field code for that criteria be instituted.  Otherwise, you must look for the "Notice of Allowance - mailed" event within any ITU application filed until such an upgrade is made.  Thanks.

Lyza

JSonnab...

Lyza, I think the OP was running TESS queries as a poor-man's docket.  Clever really.  

One point that problem weighs against such an approach, though, is mis-coding of the TESS data.  I actually lost a client not too long ago due to a mis-coded entry that slipped through a search I did.  I wouldn't rely on TESS as my docket for that reason.

- Jeff

tmr

and Jeff:

Both responses were clearly understood and appreciated.  I volunteered the TDR information because Lyza seemed to believe I was looking for something other than the core data based on her statement:

"The PTO does not allow for searches of the file histories, which is what you are looking for."

Actually that is not what I was looking for but you are in fact correct - the system instructions do not list the NOA date field code - hence the point of my original post.  Such a date is also part of the application/registration "core data" and therefore in theory it should be accessible.  I've actually written to the department responsible for TESS once and cc'd the Commissioner's office - I have yet to receive either a response to or acknowlegement of my inquiry.  I opted to post here to get insight from others such as that which Jeff provided in his post.

Also, I believe I indicated more than once that querying TESS data is used as a SECONDARY means to confirm deadlines for pending tm applications - as such I do not rely on it as a primary source.  To do so would be entirely too burdensome and time consuming.  However, professional liability insurance rates can be adjusted in instances where there are duplicate systems in place to ensure that a deadline is not missed - so to run scheduled well written scripted queries is not for naught.

I have found that quering PTO data and comparing it to my PRIMARY docketing source alerts me to discrepancies in the data (mine or theirs) to which I can react proactively rather than waiting for the issue to escalate and fester into a problem that results in the loss of a client.

Thank you both once again for your input!

Lyza

tmr,

You are very welcome for any help I was able to give.  

Hopefully I won't be censured here for what I'm about to say, but if you are interested in a docket system that allows you to link directly to the live TESS system at the PTO (not just to the TARR status page) and the live patent offices of 18 other jurisdictions around the globe, as well as pull up a direct comparison window within any individual record to see the docketed entry compared directly with what is on file at each linked patent office, contact me off-list and I will introduce you to the system I represent.  Web-based, cost effective and very intuitive to use.  Thanks.

Lyza
lyza@canopylegal.com
(Don't hurt me Jeff)