DOCX intake in Patent Center

Quick Start Guide June 2021

Quick Start Guide

Text intake in Patent Center
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Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Basic requirements for submitting DOCX in Patent Center ........................................................3
3. Filing an application in DOCX ...................................................................................................4
3.1 Initiating the filing process ...................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Application data ...................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 Attaching documents .............................................................................................................. 6
3.4 Reviewing DOCX documents ................................................................................................... 7
3.5 DOCX validations: warnings and errors .................................................................................. 9
3.6 DOCX recommended fonts….…………………………………………………………………………………………...10
3.7 Editing the document description (single section DOCX) ...................................................... 11
3.8 Calculate fees ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.9 Review and submit………………………………………………………….……………………………………….……….13
3.10 Save submission feature for registered users………………….……………………….……………………....14
3.11 Retrieving a saved submission…………………………….………………………………………………………..….15
4. Appendix…......................................................................................................................... …17
4.1 DOCX keywords for section headers….……………………………….……………………………………………….17

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1. Introduction

This Quick Start Guide provides information on how to file .docx documents and
includes a brief overview of the process and screen shots that identify critical aspects
of the submission.

An overview of Patent Center can be found at the Patent Center page located at:
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/patent-center.

2. Basic requirements for submitting DOCX in Patent Center

• Only guest users or MyUSPTO.gov account holders can access Patent Center.
• Note: Registered users can save their submissions at any time and return to make
edits prior to completing the submission, but the required payment will be due
upon filing of the completed submission.
• The DOCX intake feature is only available for new Utility Nonprovisional, Utility Provisional
and National Stage 371 submissions. It is currently unavailable for all other submission types.
• Submissions under a Secrecy Order may not be filed electronically.

NOTE: Patent Center sessions will time-out after thirty minutes of inactivity. A web-based ADS
that has not been submitted or saved after thirty minutes of inactivity will be lost. Users will
need to login to Patent Center again and re-enter the information from the start.

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3. Filing an application in DOCX

3.1 Initiating the filing process

Once signed in to Patent Center, or accessing Patent Center as guest user, the user will need to
choose “New submission” from the menu bar or “Activities” boxes.

From the menu bar, a drop down appears and the user would then choose, “Utility-
Nonprovisional”, “Utility-Provisional” or “U.S. 371 National stage”. From the Activities box, the user
is directed to another page, titled “File new submission” and would choose “Utility-Nonprovisional”,
“Utility-Provisional” or “371 National stage”. If a U.S. 371 National stage filing is chosen, the
appropriate international application number and international application filing date must be
provided before continuing to the Application Data selection page.

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3.2 Application data

Select one of the following options on the Application Data page:

1. A Web ADS which uses an online form

2. Upload a fillable and completed AIA/14 form in PDF format
3. Provide mandatory application data and provide a custom ADS, SB/14, or AIA14 at a later
time

If any corrections are needed after proceeding with the ADS option, the user can go back to the
Application Data screen by clicking on the “Application data” link at the top right of the screen.

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3.3 Attaching documents

On the “Upload documents” page, the procedure for attaching .docx is as follows:

• Option 1: Drag and drop files directly from the computer folder into Patent Center.
• Option 2: Click the “Select files(s)…” button and choose files from the appropriate
computer directory.

Application Parts, specifically the Specification, Claims, Abstract, and Drawings may be submitted in
DOCX format. These documents can be attached individually or as part of one multi-section
document in DOCX format. Please see the appendix for recognized section headings required for
automatic detection.

A word processor that can create and save Office Open XML (.docx) is required. Known word
processors capable of creating DOCX are:

• Microsoft Word 2007 or higher

• Google Docs
• Office Online
• LibreOffice
• Pages for Mac

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3.4 Reviewing DOCX documents

On the “Upload documents” screen, confirm that all of the necessary documents uploaded properly.
If there are any validation errors, highlighted in red with an “x”, the user will not be able to submit the
filing until the error is corrected. Any validation warnings, highlighted in yellow with a triangle does
not prevent the user from submitting the filing.

A feedback document is generated to show the location of any warnings and/or errors within the
document. Please note that the feedback document is only available during pre-submission, and will
not be saved or shown within Patent Center or any other USPTO systems after submission.

Uploaded .docx file(s) will generate a DOCX equivalent, minus any metadata (e.g., author, comments,
bookmarks) for review. To download the DOCX document, select the three vertical dots and select
“DOCX”. To remove a .docx file, select the three vertical dots and select the “Remove” option. Once
all of the necessary documents for the submission have been reviewed, select the “Continue” button
to advance to the next screen.

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3.5 DOCX validation: warnings and errors

The following items within a DOCX document will generate a warning message, viewable at the time
of upload and on the acknowledgement receipt:
• Track changes
• Comments
• Bookmarks
• Hidden Items
• Continuous line numbering
• Text decorations
• Unused invalid fonts
• Unnecessary document properties
• Dynamic dates
• Formula fields
• Advance fields
• Auto text lists
• Hyperlinks
• No page numbering
• Sequential specification paragraph numbering not being sequential
• Claims not numbered with positive integers
• Invalid margins
• Color or grayscale images in a document
• Invalid Claim status identifier
• OLE objects in document
• Insertions and deletions in tracked changes
• Abstract word count over 150
• Abstract more than on paragraph
• Invalid background color
• Text simultaneously marked for insertion and deletion
• Claim does not end with a period
• Claim does not start with a capital letter
• Claim contains more than one sentence
• Multiple dependent claim that does not use alternative form
• Improper Claim dependency
• Unsupported OLE Objects (Supported OLE Objects include
Visio.Drawing.11, Equation.DSMT4, ACD.ChemSketch.20, ChemDraw.Document.6.0,
Equation.3)

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The following items will generate an error message and the user will not be able to submit the filing
unless the error is corrected:

• Duplicate application parts

• Invalid page size – cannot exceed letter or A4
• Contains content control
• Contains custom XML
• Invalid font
• Non-portrait page orientation
• Multiple specifications in a single document
• Multiple claims in a single document
• Multiple abstracts in a single document
• Automation fields
• FORMCHECKBOX fields present
• FORMDROPDOWN fields present
• RD fields present
• Hyperlink fields to local resources
• User information fields
• Mail merge fields
• Fields that reference bookmarks
• INCLUDEDPICTURE fields
• INCLUDEDTEXT fields
• PAGEREF fields
• STYLEREF fields
• QUOTE fields
• AUTONUM fields
• AUTONUMLGL fields
• AUTONUMOUT fields

3.6 DOCX recommended fonts

Recommended fonts include:

• Arial
• Arial Black
• Arial Narrow
• Arial Rounded Mt
• Arial Unicode Ms
• Calibri
• Cambria
• Cambria Math
• Castellar
• Courier New
• Georgia
• Liberation Sans
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• Lucida Sans
• Monaco
• Symbol
• Tahoma
• Times
• Times New Roman
• Trebuchet MS
• Verdana
• Wide Latin
International fonts:
• MingLiu
• PMingLiU
• SimSun
• MS Mincho
• MS Pmincho
• Batang
• Batangche
• STIXGeneral

3.7 Editing the document description (single section DOCX)

Uploaded .docx file(s) are provided with automatic document codes, however, the document code
can be updated for single section documents. To edit the document code, click the three vertical
dots and select “Edit document description”. Document codes are automatically detected for the
uploaded .docx files(s).

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Select the appropriate document description from the drop down menu.

3.8 Calculate fees

The “Calculate fees” screen allows users to select the appropriate entity status. In addition, fees are
dynamically generated based on the values entered. After all applicable information has been
selected and/or entered, click the “Calculate fees” button to display a pick list of fees.

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After verifying selected fees from the pick list, click “Continue” to proceed to the next section.

3.9 Review and submit

On the “Review & submit” screen, the user will be presented with a review of the content provided
for the application. This will include all information entered on the “Application data” page, the
fee(s) indicated on the “Calculate fees” screen, as well as documents uploaded on the “Upload
documents” screen.

Ensure Bibliographic Data is correct; all documents have been attached; then click on the “Submit”
button once.

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3.10 Save submission feature for registered users

As a registered user, the option of saving the submission for later will be available without the entry
of Application Data. The save option is located in the bottom right corner of the “Upload
documents”, “Calculate fees” and “Review & submit” screens.

After clicking on the “Save” button, there is a successfully saved notification statement. The
application information will be saved for 14 days.

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3.11 Retrieving a Saved Submission

In order to retrieve the saved submission, login to Patent Center with the appropriate credentials.
On the Patent Center home page, select “Workbench” from the toolbar or the Activities box. Then,
select “View saved submissions”.

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The user can use the filters to select the desired submission.

For any questions or concerns regarding filing in EFS-Web, please contact the Patent EBC Monday -
Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 12 Midnight Eastern Time, by email ebc@uspto.gov or telephone 866-217-
9197.

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4. Appendix

4.1 DOCX keywords for section headers

DOCX keywords for section headers

*Please note that at least one of these key words needs to be present
for the section to be automatically detected.

Specification Section
INVENTION TITLE
INVENTION SPECIFICATION
INVENTION DESCRIPTION
TITLE OF (THE ) INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF (THE ) INVENTION
SPECIFICATION
Claims Section
Claim
Claims
Patent Claims
What is claimed
What is claimed is
Claimed are
I claim
We (hereby ) claim
We Claim
In the claims
The claims (here ) defining the invention are
Claim or Claims
What is put forth is
Abstract Section
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT OF (THE ) INVENTION
INVENTION ABSTRACT
DISCLOSURE ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT OF (THE ) DISCLOSURE
CONCLUSION

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Specification Subsection
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
RELATED APPLICATIONS
CROSS[- ]REFERENCES
REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS
STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST
RIGHTS TO INVENTION UNDER FEDERAL RESEARCH
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
GOVERNMENT INTEREST
GOVERNMENT RIGHTS IN THE INVENTION
FEDERAL FUNDS STATEMENT
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY
SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RIGHTS
STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND OF (THE ) INVENTION
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF (THE ) INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
PRIOR ART
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE PRIOR ART
BACKGROUND ART
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
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BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
CROSS[- ]REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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