The staff in the Application Assistance Unit (AAU) is trained to assist with a broad range of questions and issues pertaining to pre-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) and the post-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Data Management (ODM).
Contact us if you have questions regarding the America Invents Act, including legal provisions and rules in effect as of September 16, 2012 or issues as they pertain to the pre-examination and the post-examination processing of patent applications.
We can provide assistance with questions relating to:
- Status of an application that is in the pre-examination or the post-examination phase of processing
- Filing receipts
- Missing parts letters
- Pre-examination and the post-examination abandonment notices
- Express abandonments
- Change/withdrawal of attorney; change of address
- Power of attorney
- Inventor Oath and Declaration
We can also assist with:
- Listing a patent for sale in official gazette
- Lost or damaged patent grants or soft copies
- Processing of Certificates of Corrections
Assistance is available Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
The AAU will operate on the following 2017 holiday schedule:
|
January 2, 2017* |
Monday, New Year’s Day |
Closed |
|
January 16, 2017 |
Monday, Birthday of Martin Luther King. Jr. |
Closed |
|
January 20, 2017** |
Friday, Inauguration Day |
Closed |
|
February 20, 2017 |
Monday, George Washington Birthday |
Closed |
|
May 29, 2017 |
Monday, Memorial Day |
Closed |
|
July 4, 2017 |
Monday, Independence Day |
Closed |
|
September 4, 2017 |
Monday, Labor Day |
Closed |
|
October 9, 2017 |
Monday, Columbus Day |
Closed |
|
November 10, 2017*** |
Friday, Veterans Day |
Closed |
|
November 23, 2017 |
Thursday, Thanksgiving Day |
Closed |
|
December 25, 2017 |
Monday, Christmas Day |
Closed |
* January 1, 2017, falls on a Sunday. For most Federal employees, Monday, January 2, will be treated as a holiday.
** Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017, falls on a Friday. An employee who works in the District of Columbia, Montgomery or Prince George's Counties in Maryland, Arlington or Fairfax Counties in Virginia, or the cities of Alexandria or Fairfax in Virginia is entitled to a holiday.
*** November 11, 2017 (the legal public holiday for Veterans Day), falls on a Saturday. For most Federal employees, Friday, November 10, will be treated as a holiday.