USPTO Announces that Electronic Issuance of Certificates of Corrections for U.S. Patents will begin on January 30, 2024

As a next logical step after its transition to electronic issuance (“eGrant”) of U.S. patents on April 18, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just announced that it will issue certificates of correction electronically starting on January 30, 2024. The USPTO indicated that electronic certificates of correction will be applicable to all U.S. patents, regardless of whether the U.S. patent issued on paper or electronically as an eGrant.

According to the USPTO, “the electronic certificate of correction will be the official certificate of correction issued under seal as provided for by the applicable statute.”  Each electronic certificate of correction will be available for viewing in Patent Center on the date of issuance of the certificate of correction.  The USPTO will no longer mail a paper copy of the certificate of correction to the correspondence address of record.   Also, according to the USPTO, “[p]rocedural aspects of requesting certificates of correction and the standards for granting the requests will not change,” so patent owners may still request a certificate of correction using form PTO/SB/44 and a signed coversheet explaining the desired correction.

More information is available here.  A formal notice is expected to publish in the Official Gazette on January 9, 2024.