A New Era: USPTO Retired Public PAIR On August 1st

On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office surprised patent practitioners across the nation by announcing their intention to discontinue the Patent Application Information Retrieval system (most commonly known as “PAIR”) starting Monday, August 1^st, 2022.[1] From this date forward, publicly accessible status information concerning any published patent application will become available through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s more modern and technologically-advanced Patent Center system. This change will not only include Patent Center’s integration of all previous Public PAIR features, but will further incorporate expanded features, such as quick previews, ZIP file download capabilities (for multiple selected documents), and the option to download documents in a variety of file formats, such as DOCX and XML.[2]

Originally launched at the turn of the 21^st century, use of the PAIR system was routinely encouraged by the Patent and Trademark Office and has played a key role in providing the general public the ability to electronically access published applications and monitor their status through the stages of prosecution.[3] Now, over two decades later, its outdated interface has been acknowledged and is being addressed accordingly. Public PAIR was officially retired Friday, July 31^st, 2022.[4]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – the federal agency emblematic of technological progression – has routinely demonstrated its desire to modernize its electronic systems as of late, which further exhibits a conscious effort to improve and maintain operations to a standard consistent with 21^st century software and network technologies. The retirement of Public PAIR is just one of many steps, as more major changes to the agency’s online system are expected to take place within the next year. [5] These updates will all take place with the same goal in mind – to further streamline the patent application and prosecution process for practitioners and clients alike. [6]

[1] See “Modern, user-friendly Patent Center to fully replace legacy Public PAIR system this summer”; United States Patent and Trademark Office, accessed at https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/modern-user-friendly-patent-center-fully-replace-legacy-public-pair-system.

[2] Id.

[3] See “Changes to Implement Eighteen-Month Publication of Patent Applications; Final Rule”; 65 Fed. Reg. 183 (Sep. 20, 2000).

⁴ See “Public PAIR to be retired”; United States Patent and Trademark Office, accessed at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/public-pair-be-retired.  

[5] See “Switch to DOCX Filing”; United States Patent and Trademark Office, accessed at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/newsletter/inventors-eye/switch-docx-filing-coming-january-1.

[6] United States Patent and Trademark Office, supra note 1.