Effective April 18, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will stop issuing paper patent certificates and will issue them electronically instead. For other types of intellectual property (such as trademarks), electronic issuance of certificates has already been in effect since last year.
In this way, it joins the practice already followed by the major patent offices (EPO, China, South Korea, etc.), which had already abandoned the paper format for their patent certificates some time ago.
During a transitional period, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will also issue a paper copy, but after that period, a paper copy will only be available upon payment of an additional fee.
This measure (which will save the U.S. government approximately $2 million annually) is also intended to reduce the environmental impact of printing the patent and mailing it to the patent holders by eliminating the use of paper and ink, as well as the mailing and shipping costs associated with its delivery. At the same time, it reduces the time it takes for the patent holder to receive their patent.
At ELZABURU, we applaud this decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is in line with the measures that government agencies are adopting to reduce, as much as possible, the environmental impact caused by traditional processes.
In this regard, ELZABURU is also committed to protecting the environment, having adopted a policy several years ago to reduce and eliminate paper consumption by implementing electronic records and phasing out paper-based systems in most processes and files.
Pedro Saturio, Associate Partner in the Patetes practice area