eGrants
Please note that the information on this webpage will continue to be updated, as additional information becomes available.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing electronic patent issuance, effective April 18, 2023. Under this change, the USPTO will issue electronic patent grants (eGrants) through Patent Center, the USPTO’s electronic patent application filing and management system, which includes patent document viewing.
Patent grants will no longer be issued on paper, and as a result, they will no longer be mailed to the correspondence address of record as part of the patent issuance process. Instead, the patentee will be able to view and print the complete issued patent from Patent Center immediately upon issue. During a transition period, the USPTO will provide a paper copy of the electronic patent grant as a ceremonial copy, delivered to the patentee’s correspondence address of record. The electronic patent grant is the official statutory patent grant.
Electronic grants
- Utilize the Portable Document Format (PDF)
- Mirror the appearance of the currently produced bound patent grants
- Use an encrypted certification/validation technology
Benefits of electronic grants
- Provides electronic grants to patentee and public as a certified PDF on the day of issue
- Streamlines the patent grant process, minimizes paper waste, and provides the opportunity to reduce pendency
- Minimizes printing and mailing, potentially reducing patent pendency
- Increases printing flexibility and choice for patentee and public
