The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing electronic patent issuance to reduce the time for processing patent applications, promote sustainability by reducing paper waste, and make issued patents immediately viewable and printable to both the applicants and the public through the Patent Center.
During a transition period of unspecified duration, a paper copy of the electronic patent grant (eGrant) will be provided as a courtesy ceremonial copy, and after the transition period, the ceremonial paper copy will be available for purchase for a nominal fee in addition to the presentation copy and certified copy. Once the transition to electronic patent issuance is complete, electronic patent grants issued in PDF format will become the official statutory patent grant. The eGrants will be issued under a new digital USPTO seal and bear the digital signature from the USPTO Director.
Read the Federal Register on this issue here.
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