Thursday, November 1, 2018

EFS-Web and Private PAIR authentication change: Sponsorship Tool now available

All EFS-Web and Private PAIR users now have a new, safer, and simpler login. The USPTO is moving from using PKI certificates for two-factor authentication because they will no longer be supported by the software provider.
The Sponsorship Tool is now available for existing registered practitioners to give access to support staff to work on their sponsor’s behalf. Please follow the step-by-step instructions to sponsor your support staff. Once they are sponsored, they will be able to sign in using their accounts and select the registered practitioners for whom they work.
Creating an account
If you or your support staff do not already have USPTO.gov accounts, each of you will need to create one and opt in for two-step authentication. 
Migrating an existing account
If you are a registered practitioner or independent inventor with an existing PKI digital certificate, use our with these step-by-step instructions to link your new USPTO.gov account to your current PKI digital certificate.
Using your new account
There are new EFS-Web and Private PAIR URLs for use with your USPTO.gov account. Make sure to update your bookmarks with these sites:
More information
Please review the Patent Electronic System Access Document for additional information on authentication, sponsorship, and verification for accessing patent electronic systems.
We invite you to register for multiple information sessions related to this authentication change, because new information will be added as it becomes available. 
For more information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR.
If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.