Mandatory download for electronic filing now available

As promised, the US Patent and Trademark Office has made the latest version of its EFS software available for download. The new version corrects a problem of the old — it didn’t recognize the new fee structure and only allowed for payment of the old fees on filing.

Because of this fix, the new version is now the only version that can be used to file electronically.

From the Office’s Electronic Business Center:

Download Required as of 23DEC2004: Submissions after 1:00 AM on 23 December 2004 will require that the user install and use an updated version of EFS software. Users wishing to make submissions via EFS must install and use ABX v1.2, EFS-ABX PDF Writer and ePAVE 5.2, available from the EFS Downloads page.

Users must download and install three separate programs: ABX, ABXPDF, and ePAVE.