USPTO News: Webcast Regarding Public PAIR Issues

    By Christopher P. Singer --

Recently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it will hold a webcast on April 30, 2008 at 3:00 pm (EDT) in order to address various issues concerning Public PAIR.  In particular, the Office will address the recent access and response time problems that Public PAIR has faced resulting from of downloads of large amounts of data.  The PTO will address its initial efforts to address this problem using the verification code "reCAPTCHA" security measure (see "USPTO e-Commerce Update and Public PAIR Verification System"), and will discuss potential long-term solutions to the problem.

The PTO is explicitly requesting public input regarding this issue in order to be sure that any permanent system solution will still be able to meet the needs of the IP community.  For those interested in viewing the webcast, you only need to enroll (free) for the event at this link.  Public comments and questions regarding the process of gathering information and requirements of the Public PAIR system can be e-mailed to the following address:  PAIR_webcast@uspto.gov.