Automated
Patent
Library System (APLS)
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Q:
Can I try
out APLS to see if I like it before I sign up?
A.
YES.
Give us a call and we'll give you a temporary user ID to try it out
(and
10 free patents).
Q:
How many users
can I have on one account?
A.
99 plus the administrator user (00).
The APLS user ID is your account number followed by a hyphen and two
digits.
These last two digits are the user number, 00 to 99. Each user's
email, PIN, Name and ID are tracked separately for billing purposes.
Your
monthly statement will show who created the order as well as the
Docket/Reference
number they used (if any).
Q:
If I select
View
Previous Orders on the menu and download a patent from an older
order
again, am I billed for that patent a second time?
A.
NO.
If the order is listed, you will NOT be billed if you download a patent
or application a second time, or a third or fourth, or even a fifth
time! We make your older orders available as long as we can
(resources
permitting) for your convenience! Remember, we
provide
a service for you, and not just data. We will always have the last
5 business days worth of orders available (at the very least), but we
try
to keep the last few months available for your convenience!
Q:
What is the
advantage using the Combine Files feature to create one large document
to download instead of all of the individual files I ordered?
A. If
the main reason
you are ordering the files it to print them, this will save you the
time
of having to open each patent you ordered and print it individually. If
you have an order with 35, 40 or even 50 patents on it, this can save
you
15 to 20 minutes, or more (at no additional cost). Also, see the
next question (about printing speed). If you want all the patent
image files separate after you download, try the ZIP files option (an
Unzipping
program is required on your computer).
Q:
Why do TIF
files print twice as fast as PDF files on my HP Laser
Jet
printers?
A. The
Kodak Imaging
Software and the Microsoft Fax Viewer (Win XP) found on the accessories
menu of most Windows based computers is much more efficient in
how
it prepares the image data to be sent to the HP laser printer. In our
tests
of several versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader (vers. 4, 5 & 6)
all
of them were very slow at printing PDF image files. We reported this to
Adobe back in version 4, but they don't seem to be too concerned about
it. Our tests were conducted with HP-4100s, HP-5si, HP-8000s and
HP-8100
lasers printing from Win-98, WIN-2000 Pro, and Win-XP, and in all cases
with all versions of the Adobe software, the TIF files printed with the
Kodak and MS Fax Viewer software printed in LESS THAN HALF THE TIME.
Q:
Can two people
use the same APLS UserID at the same time?
A.
No. The
APLS system will get totally confused, log both of you off (and may
need
to visit a shrink). If you need more users on your account, just call
and
we'll add them (it's easy, and it's free!)
Q:
How do you
handle correction pages and reexams (how do I order them)?
A.
All post
issue documents (X6, Reexam, etc.) are appended to the
original
documents when you order them (at no extra cost). If
you
know the Reexam (B1) Number, simply order the original patent number
and
it will be appended to it. If you find we do not have the correction
material
appended to the original document, please let us know and we will get
it
for you immediately, free of charge. Also, if you need the B1
document
as a separate file, send us email and we will send you the B1
separately.
Q:
If my firm
buys a large quantity of image files each week, is there a better price
we can get?
A. Yes.
Give us a
call and you will be pleasantly surprised. The first break is at 200
image
files a week. The quantity break on of our printed patents occurs at
300
or more per week.
Q.
Why are other
providers still asking between $2.00 and $5.00 for a patent image?
A.
We're not absolutely
sure. But we suspect it's for one of three reasons:
1)
Because
they don't feel lowering prices will gain new clients, and they are
hoping
current clients won't notice OUR prices.
2)
Even though
computer equipment and network costs have spiraled downward over the
last
5 years, they have older, more expensive equipment to maintain,
and finally,
3)
They purchased
the patent inventory when it was five times the price it is now.
Technology
has reduced the cost of the entire US patent/application inventory from
$250,000 down to approximately $40,000 (of course you have to add all
the
equipment to maintain and serve it, but that is less expensive now, as
well). We pass this savings on to you.
4)
There is
software you can license that will get the patents for free. Well, not
for Free - you have to license the software annually (in many cases) on
a per computer basis.
Q:
My docket numbers
from APLS didn't show up on my statement as you said they would. What's
up?
A. We
apologize for
that. During our transition to new accounting software we didn't catch
it in time. We did, however, include copies of every order with the
docket
number on each one to help you (we know it want as easy but it's all we
could think of at the last minute to assist you). We have it solved.
From
now on, each line item on your statement which represents a document
order
will have the first patent number in that order with the docket/Ref#
just
to the right of it. We understand completely that your job is to ensure
that YOUR clients are billed properly for the documents and we know
that
it is our job to help you by clearly listing each docket with each
order!
If there is anything else we can do to help, or another format you
would
like, PLEASE let us know and we will do our best to assist you.
In
March we will be adding an online feature to APLS to let you view a
list
of all APLS orders for the previous month with the docket numbers
next
to the order number in a clean printable format! - We ARE listening
to you!
Q.
What makes
your Library Quality printed patents better than other 3 hole punched
patents?
A. We
use HammerMill
FLATSTAK® brand
paper with almost UN-TEAR-ABLE binding edges. The entire 3 hole
edge is reinforced the full length of the paper. This is a very high
quality
paper. It is standard 20 pound thickness and the reinforcement doesn't
make it any thinker on that edge (hence Hammermill's brand name
"FLATSTAK").
This paper costs almost three times as much as standard 20 pound white
laser/copy paper (but it's worth it). If you are assembling a
large
search report for your client, or you have a series of patents you keep
in your library,
our
Library Quality Patents are for you.
We also print all of our patents at 600 dots per inch using resolution
enhancement technology.
Q.
What type of
DVD media and burner do you use, and will it be compatible with my DVD
reader?
A. We
use three brands
of DVD recorders: Sony, NEC, and Vivastar. Two of these brands are
capable
of burning to DVD-R (dash R)
and DVD+R (plus R)
media, however,
we always use a good name brand DVD-R media (dash R) because it is our
experience that more of the older DVD readers work better with them. If
your reader doesn't like the DVD we send you, we'll create it on a
different
model of recorder and replace it at no charge . We have had very few
problems
with media that we have shipped.
Q.
Do you sell
the entire U.S. Patent Image collection?
A.
Yes, and
for far less than the USPTO does. Give us a call and we'll help you
out. We
can also engineer and provide an in-house system to deliver them
throughout
your company.
Q.
I clicked on
the email address for information on your home page, but it doesn't do
anything. I had to manually type it in to use it. Why?
A.
The devious
people that send out junk email (known as SPAM) now have software
that automatically "harvests" email addresses from web sites. We have
made
our email addresses out of graphics (pictures) instead of the text
email
address so they can no longer be read by this harvesting software.
Someday
we will all be sick enough of SPAM to do something about it. Until
then,
we have to find ways to stop it, or at least slow it down some.
Q.
How do some of these companies or web sites give away patents or let us
download them for free (or close to free)?
A.
They don't
actually have the patents on their web sites. They did not purchase the
inventories, nor do they have a paid subscription for the material they
sell or give away. They have written software to get the patents from
the
USPTO and other authorites one page at a time (pretending to be a
single
user) then they reassemble each page into a multipage patent and let
you
download them. This why there are sometimes missing pages from these
patents,
and also why most of them don't do more than a few at a time or limit
you
to a certain number per order or per day. When the PTO has problems,
they
do as well (they have no control over the source). This is also why
their
systems are often much slower and also why most of them don't offer all
of the documents in PDF and TIF formats. See the next question for more
details.
Do you have more
questions, or a comment
you would like to share with us?
Call us at (800-832-2823 or
386-426-5393)
and talk to a human, not a machine.
We like answering
your questions,
and quite often, we are on the learning end of the
conversation which allows
us to improve
our services.
"The
more you know
- the more we like it."
IP Data
Corporation (formerly
Sensory Publishing)
(same company,
same great
products, new name!)
2003 Old
Mission Road, New
Smyrna Beach, FL. 32168 U.S.A.
800-832-2823
Fax 208-361-6381 Support@IPDataCorp.com
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