Best Practices To Avoid Missing IP Docketing Deadline

Beating docketing deadlines is a good source of headache for Intellectual Property (IP) lawyers. In case of a missed deadline puts your client at risk of losing rights to their trademarks or patents forever. Keep in mind that IP fillings go through various transactions. Securing and maintaining IP rights comes with various filing requirements. The hardest bit is that some deadlines might cover more than 10 years after the application date. There’s a possibility that the manual calendar system has moved, changed, or is updated.

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What is Intellectual Property docketing?

Docketing is tracking deadlines regarding prosecuting of copyrights, trademarks, and patents to appropriate government offices. Registration, filling patents and trademarks, or oppositions requires various deadlines. The deadlines vary from 90 days on receipt of notification to 6 or 10 years. Having different deadlines necessitates the need to have a docketing system to monitor them.

Handling multiple deadlines

To handle various deadlines seems possible with a manual system although very risky. Keep in mind that IP deadlines are likely to keep popping up more than you expected. This is because government offices and third parties can update the status of the filings randomly. Besides, events such as maintenance and prosecution of filings also trigger deadlines. Keep in mind that the various IP rules and offices have different regulations regarding the determination of deadlines and due dates.

Regardless of all those situations, clients expect you to maintain their filings and offer on-demand reports. It is quite hard and a bit risky to manage IP deadlines. The time comes when you have to manage thousands of filings making marking IP deadlines on the calendar a challenging and complex task. Luckily, understanding some industry best practices will make the process seamless.

Organization is key

The best IP docketing firms manage various changing deadlines and statuses by staying informed and organized. This results from setting aside some regular time for reviewing the statuses of all fillings in their docket. Additionally, professional firms double-check all correspondences from IP offices. Doing this ensures recording and responding appropriately to key deadlines and action items.

Calculating deadlines immediately

After verification of the current status of all filings, immediate calculation of key deadlines is very important. This requires the use of applicable procedural and statutory provisions. Recording all deadlines immediately ensures that no date slips through the cracks.

You also have the responsibility of staying ahead of all regulatory changes. This allows correct calculation of all deadlines. For example, regularly checking the United States Patent and Trademark Office allows being updated in all Recent and Upcoming Statutory and Regulatory Changes.

Relying on technology

Incorporating effective technology saves frustration and time when handling IP docketing. The best thing is that it hedges against missed deadlines. There are various tools on the market to automate repetitive administrative tasks when managing IP deadlines. Docketing software handles other tasks including:

• Identifying and updating deadlines and fillings
• Preparing customized detailed reports instantly
• Keeping clients informed about filing deadlines and statuses

Informing clients regularly

One way of staying ahead of docking deadlines is to manage internal processes. However, efficient communication with clients and keeping them in the know with due dates and updates are very important. You have to send report letters promptly to let clients understand any changes or to prepare reports about clients’ portfolios. Additionally, you also have to collect information and documents from clients to allow prompt preparation of responses to objections from the government or third parties.

Need for IP docketing

Intellectual property docketing is an indispensable and crucial process for IP prosecution. Every patent or trademark application  has a due date. However, it is impossible to recover some missed dates although some are recoverable. Missing a date puts the application at risk of abandonment. For dates that are recoverable, reinstatement is very expensive and requires putting in more hours of additional work.

Distinguishing between IP docketing and data entry

Most people fail to distinguish between IP docketing and data entry. Transfer of data from a source document into a relevant field is data entry. There’s little or no work involved in this process. Computer software saves this data for programming. On the other hand, IP docketing involves entering relevant information for the computer program to calculate due response dates. The person handling the docketing process verifies that all dates are correct.

You can’t rule out a possibility of the docketing software miscalculating and giving incorrect due dates. So, the person handling docketing should understand the current process to handle the patent application or particular trademark. The docketing process requires comprehensive understanding of basic IP execution, skill, attention to detail, and the mind to comprehend ambiguous cases.

Wrapping up

When having various deadlines to beat, understanding best practices is important. Informing clients, organization, and streamlining the process with the appropriate software allows beating deadlines to keep clients happy.