The United States Patent and Trademark Office announced the beta release of eTerminal Disclaimer in EFS-Web which permits the automatic filing and grant of a terminal disclaimer in a patent application. The new eTerminal Disclaimer provides applicants with many advantages and promotes greater efficiency in the patent examination process. This web-based eTerminal Disclaimer can be filled out completely online through web-screens and no EFS-Web fillable forms are required. eTerminal Disclaimers are auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission if the request meets all of the requirements.
Fees must be paid immediately which will then provide users more financial flexibility. A paper filed Terminal Disclaimer requires a fee but does not guarantee a Terminal Disclaimer approval. Each eTerminal Disclaimer filed requires a single terminal disclaimer fee, but can include up to 50 “reference applications” and 50 "prior patents".
During the beta period, eTerminal Disclaimers cannot be filed to a patent application that has yet to be docketed to an examiner. Applicants can check the Transaction History Tab of Public or Private PAIR to determine if their application has been docketed to an examiner. To file a terminal disclaimer to an undocketed application, please complete form SB/25 or SB/26 and submit the forms for manual review.
The Quick Start Guide for eTerminal Disclaimer is available at:
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp
For assistance with filing an eTerminal Disclaimer, or to suggest improvements, please call the Patent Electronic Business Center at (866) 217-9197 (toll free) or send an email to EBC@uspto.gov