What are the requirements for submitting ‘Large Tables’ on read-only optical discs?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

When submitting ‘Large Tables’ on read-only optical discs, follow these requirements as per 37 CFR 1.58(f) and (i):

• Submit the discs in duplicate
• Label the discs as ‘Copy 1’ and ‘Copy 2’ respectively
• Include a transmittal letter stating that the two discs are identical
• Files may be compressed using WinZip®, 7-Zip, or Unix®/Linux® Zip
• Compressed files must not be self-extracting
• If a compressed file doesn’t fit on a single disc, it may be split into multiple parts

For amendments:

• Submit replacement read-only optical discs in duplicate
• Label them as ‘COPY 1 REPLACEMENT MM/DD/YYYY’ and ‘COPY 2 REPLACEMENT MM/DD/YYYY’

The USPTO will use the disc labeled ‘Copy 1’ for processing if the copies are not identical.