608.05(b)    Compact Disc Submissions of Large Tables [R-07.2015]

37 C.F.R. 1.58   Chemical and mathematical formulae and tables.

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  • (b) Tables that are submitted in electronic form (§§ 1.96(c)  and 1.821(c) ) must maintain the spatial relationships ( e.g. , alignment of columns and rows) of the table elements when displayed so as to visually preserve the relational information they convey. Chemical and mathematical formulae must be encoded to maintain the proper positioning of their characters when displayed in order to preserve their intended meaning.

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The provisions of 37 CFR 1.52  and 37 CFR 1.58  for submitting specifications and tables on paper have been found suitable for most patent applications, although submission via EFS-Web is preferred. When lengthy tables must be disclosed in a patent application in order to provide a complete disclosure, use of paper copies can become burdensome. The cost of printing long tables in patent documents is also very expensive to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In the past, all disclosures forming part of a patent application were presented on paper with the exception of microorganisms and computer program listings. Under 37 CFR 1.58, several different methods for submitting large tables, including the use of CD-ROM and CD-R, are set forth. Applicants may also submit large tables as ASCII text files submitted via EFS-Web.

See MPEP § 608.05, subsection I., for details pertaining to submission of text files via EFS-Web, and subsection II. for details pertaining to submissions on compact disc.

The text files submitted via EFS-Web or stored on the compact disc containing the table must contain only ASCII characters. No special formatting characters or proprietary file formats are permitted. Accordingly, great care must be taken so that the spatial arrangement of the data in rows and columns is maintained in the table when the file is opened for viewing at the Office. This will allow the table to viewed with virtually any text viewer. A single table contained on fifty pages or less must be submitted either as drawings (in compliance with 37 CFR 1.84 ) or as part of the specification in paper (in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52 ) or PDF (if filed via EFS-Web).

A single table contained on 51 pages or more, or if there are multiple tables in an application and the total number of pages of the tables exceeds one hundred pages, the tables may be submitted on a CD-ROM or CD-R (in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52(e)  and 37 CFR 1.58 ) or as an ASCII text file via EFS-Web (in compliance with the EFS-Web Legal Framework (see MPEP § 502.05)). A table page is defined in 37 CFR 1.52(e)(1)(iii)  as a page printed on paper in conformance with 37 CFR 1.52(b)  and 1.58(c). The presentation of a subheading to divide a large table into smaller sections of less than 51 pages should not be used to prevent an applicant from submitting the table on a compact disc unless the subdivided tables are presented as numerous files on the compact disc so as to lose their relationship to the overall large table.

Tables in landscape orientation should be identified as landscape orientation in the transmittal letter accompanying the compact disc to allow the Office to properly upload the tables into the Image File Wrapper (IFW) or other automated systems. 37 CFR 1.52(e)(3)(ii). Most tables filed with patent applications are intended to be rendered in portrait mode. Accordingly, filings without an identification of landscape mode will be rendered as portrait mode tables by the Office. Landscape oriented tables should not be filed via EFS-Web because PAIR will automatically convert the tables to portrait orientation, which may cause the images to be distorted during viewing.

If tables on more than two hundred consecutive pages, or large numbers of tables (lengthy tables) are submitted on a CD or as text files submitted via EFS-Web as provided in 37 CFR 1.52(e), or in an electronic format in response to a specific request from the Office of Data Management, these lengthy tables will not be published as part of a patent document (e.g., patent, patent application publication or Statutory Invention Registration (SIR)). The lengthy tables will be published separately on the sequence homepage of the USPTO website (http://seqdata.uspto.gov ) as an XML file. See, for example, patent application publication nos. US 20030235811 A1 and US 20030237110 A9.

The Office discourages the embedding of a lengthy table in the specification of a patent application. If a lengthy table is embedded in the specification of a patent application, and if the lengthy table is available in an electronic form (either XML or a format convertible to XML), when the patent or patent application publication is published, the following single-column statement will be inserted in place of each replaced table in the document.

LENGTHY TABLE

Lengthy table referenced here. Please refer to the end of the specification for access instructions.

When the lengthy tables are separately published on the USPTO website, there will be a standardized "Lengthy Table" statement, in the patent document following the detailed description (see 37 CFR 1.77(b)(8) ).

For a patent application publication, the following page-wide text would appear:

LENGTHY TABLES

The patent application contains a lengthy table section. A copy of the table is available in electronic form from the USPTO Web site (http://seq data.uspto.gov/?pageRequest=docDetail& docID=[publication number]). An electronic copy of the table will also be available from the USPTO upon request and payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b)(3).

For a patent, the following page-wide text would appear:

LENGTHY TABLES

The patent contains a lengthy table section. A copy of the table is available in electronic form from the USPTO Web site (http://seqdata.uspto.gov/?pageRequest=doc Detail&docID=[patent number]). An electronic copy of the table will also be available from the USPTO upon request and payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b)(3).

For a SIR, the following page-wide text would appear:

LENGTHY TABLES

The statutory invention registration contains a lengthy table section. A copy of the table is available in electronic form from the USPTO Web site (http://seqdata.uspto.gov/?page Request=docDetail&docID =[statutory invention registration number]). An electronic copy of the table will also be available from the USPTO upon request and payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b).

Form paragraphs 6.63.01 and 6.63.02 may be used to notify applicant of corrections needed to comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.52(e)  and 37 CFR 1.58(b)  with respect to tables.

¶ 6.63.01    Table Less Than 51 Pages Submitted Only as Text File

The description portion of this application contains a table consisting of less than fifty one (51) pages only in ASCII text format submitted either via EFS-Web or on compact disc. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.52(e), only a table of at least fifty one (51) pages may be submitted as an ASCII text file. Accordingly, applicant is required to cancel the references to the table in text format appearing in the specification on pages [1], file a paper version of the table in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52  or file a PDF version via EFS-Web, and change all appropriate references to the former table in text format to the newly added paper or PDF version of the table in the remainder of the specification.

Examiner Note:

1. This form paragraph must be used whenever a table on a compact disc or submitted as a text file via EFS-Web consisting of less than fifty one (51) pages as part of the descriptive portion of the specification is filed on or after September 8, 2000. See MPEP § 608.05(b).

2. In bracket 1, insert the range of page numbers of the specification which reference the table.

¶ 6.63.02    Table Column/Row Relationship Not Maintained

This application contains a table in ASCII text format submitted either via EFS-Web or on compact disc. Tables submitted as an ASCII text file in compliance with 37 CFR 1.58  must maintain the spatial orientation of the cell entries. The table submitted does not maintain the data within each table cell in its proper row/column alignment. The data is misaligned in the table as follows: [1]. Applicant is required to submit a replacement text file via EFS-Web or on compact disc with the table data properly aligned.

Examiner Note:

1. This form paragraph must be used whenever the data in a table cannot be accurately read because the data in the table cells do not maintain their row and column alignments.

2. In bracket 1, insert the area of the table that does not maintain the row and column alignments.