GPTO and WIPO DAS

The participation of the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) as a depositing office in the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS) offers significant advantages for patent applicants. While the GPTO requires that a dedicated request be filed for entering a document into WIPO DAS, the GPTO allows for the deposit of priority documents even when the priority term has (long) expired and for documents that pre-date the GPTO’s designation as a depositing office. This flexibility is particularly beneficial when applicants require access to priority documents after the expiration of the priority term, such as during the filing of a bypass continuation in the U.S.