Certified Copies

Many countries, especially non-PCT countries, require certified copies of the priority U.S. patent application(s). The process can take several weeks, and in some instances I have been in danger of the foreign patent office abandoning our application in that country for want of a certified copy. The better practice is to secure certified copies well in advance. Note that if one does wait until the last minute, one can usually obtain a certified copy within a few days by faxing a request to the Certified Copies Branch . But that only works if the attorney faxes in his deposit account number, and has a signatory on that account sign the fax! Even better, one can obtain electronic certified copies from the U.S. patent office through its web site.