Changes to Filing US Patent Applications: The USPTO’s DOCX Program

The process to file US patent applications online has been almost the same for the past 10-15 years. That filing process finally changed in January 2024 when the USPTO started requiring new U.S. nonprovisional patent applications be uploaded as DOCX files to avoid a surcharge. The DOCX requirement, which was postponed repeatedly, caused an uproar in certain corners of the U.S. IP world. But what does the DOCX requirement cover and what will the impact be? Nathaniel and Elizabeth are joined by John DiMaio, a patent attorney at Hodgson Russ, to figure out if this new requirement harms applicant rights or if the risks are exaggerated.