PPC Technology & Digital Tools 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When searching for prior art using Boolean operators in a patent database, which search string correctly retrieves documents containing both 'polymer' and 'coating' but NOT 'adhesive'?
- polymer OR coating NOT adhesive
- polymer AND coating NOT adhesive (Correct answer)
- polymer + coating – adhesive
- polymer NEAR coating EXCEPT adhesive
Correct answer: polymer AND coating NOT adhesive
Standard Boolean logic requires AND to combine required terms and NOT to exclude unwanted terms: 'polymer AND coating NOT adhesive'.
Question 2: Which classification system is used jointly by the USPTO and EPO to categorize patent documents for prior art searching?
- International Patent Classification (IPC)
- Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) (Correct answer)
- United States Patent Classification (USPC)
- Locarno Classification System
Correct answer: Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is the joint USPTO/EPO hierarchical classification system that replaced the old USPC for prior art searching.
Question 3: A paralegal is using docketing software and notices two different deadline entries for the same application — one from the attorney's notes and one auto-calculated. What is the safest course of action?
- Use the earlier of the two deadlines and notify the attorney of the discrepancy (Correct answer)
- Use the auto-calculated deadline as software is always accurate
- Delete the manual entry to avoid confusion
- File a petition with the USPTO to clarify the deadline
Correct answer: Use the earlier of the two deadlines and notify the attorney of the discrepancy
Best practice is to always use the earlier deadline to avoid missing the actual due date, while immediately flagging the discrepancy to the supervising attorney.
Question 4: Which feature of USPTO's Assignment Database is most useful for a patent paralegal verifying chain of title before filing an assignment recordation?
- Real-time prosecution history viewer
- Searchable history of recorded assignments by patent number or assignee name (Correct answer)
- Automated title defect detection tool
- Fee payment confirmation records
Correct answer: Searchable history of recorded assignments by patent number or assignee name
The USPTO Assignment Database allows searching recorded assignment documents by patent/application number or party name to verify current ownership and chain of title.
Question 5: Under USPTO rules, what is the maximum file size for a single PDF document uploaded through Patent Center?
- 25 MB
- 50 MB (Correct answer)
- 100 MB
- 10 MB
Correct answer: 50 MB
Patent Center imposes a 50 MB size limit per uploaded PDF document; larger files must be split before submission.
Question 6: A paralegal is preparing an IDS (Information Disclosure Statement). Which USPTO form is the current standard form used to list cited references?
- PTO/SB/08 (Correct answer)
- PTO/SB/21
- PTO/AIA/01
- PTO/SB/83
Correct answer: PTO/SB/08
Form PTO/SB/08 is the current standard USPTO form for submitting an Information Disclosure Statement listing cited prior art references.
Question 7: When using Espacenet to search international patents, which search field would a paralegal use to locate all patents filed by a specific company as applicant?
- Publication number field
- Applicant field (Correct answer)
- Inventor field
- CPC classification field
Correct answer: Applicant field
The Applicant field in Espacenet's smart search retrieves all patent documents where a specific entity is named as the applicant/assignee.
PPC Technology & Digital Tools 3
When searching for prior art using Boolean operators in a patent database, which search string correctly retrieves documents containing both 'polymer' and 'coating' but NOT 'adhesive'?