Innovation & intellectual property · 25/01/2012

USPTO Establishes One-Year Retention Period for Patent-Related Papers in Image File Wrapper System and Supplemental Complex Repository

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has implemented a one-year retention period for patent-related papers scanned into the Image File Wrapper system (IFW) or the Supplemental Complex Repository for Examiners (SCORE), which began on September 1, 2011, for papers submitted prior to that date, and on the submission date for papers submitted on or after September 1, 2011.