Patent Proofreading

Proofreading is an important step in the process of obtaining a patent – one that is often overlooked. Proofreading identifies errors that can affect the patent's enforceability. It is a time-consuming process that can get quite expensive.

CPA Global's IP Support Services dedicated proofreading staff provide a high-quality alternative to the burden of trying to find staff willing and capable of proofreading an issued patent.

From a sample of 1600 patents issued by the USPTO, CPA Global's IP Support Service found that 98% of the patents contained mistakes. Over half of those mistakes were made by the USPTO, over a third required a Certificate of Correction to be filed, and 2% contained mistakes serious enough to impair the core claims.

IP Support Services standardised methodology ensures uncompromised proofreading quality by focusing on specific guidelines and procedures. We have a multiple level, graduated review process depending on the experience level of the proofreader and the complexity of the patent. Our proofreaders receive extensive training both initially and on an ongoing basis to refresh their skills.

Our end-product is consistent and the best available. We provide a comprehensive two-part proofreading report with each patent, indicating any errors or discrepancies discovered, making the decision to file a Certificate of Corrections easy. The first part of the proofreading report is a simple, yet comprehensive summary that identifies all of the mistakes identified during the proofreading process. 

The process is virtually seamless. We provide a proprietary method to transmit the documents at literally the push of a button. The USPTO has scanned images of the entire file wrapper for many issued patents. For such patents, all the IP Support Service team needs to retrieve the documents online is the patent number.

For non-USPTO scanned files, we can work with either electronic or paper documents:

• Electronic Documents: We provide proprietary software that will enable you to upload the documents needed for proofreading. This secure system accepts images of the documents in any format, including Word document, PDF, WordPerfect and other formats.

• Paper Documents: You can scan paper documents into our system for transmitting to us, or you can send us the physical files and we will scan the relevant documents into the system at a modest cost per page.