human: I filed a nonpublication request with the application on filing, but the filing receipt shows a projected publication date. What should I do?
assistant: Applicant should first check the Office's electronic application file (IFW) via Private PAIR or Patent Center to see if the nonpublication request (which must be conspicuous and include a proper certification) is present. If the conspicuous nonpublication request is actually present somewhere in the Office's file but it was improperly not recognized, applicant should contact the Office of Pre-Grant Publication at (703) 605-4283. If the Office's file does not contain the nonpublication request and applicant has evidence (e.g., an itemized post card receipt showing the request and the ""Office Date"" stamp) that a proper nonpublication request was filed with the Office, applicant should contact the Office of Pre-Grant Publication and file a request for corrected filing receipt accompanied by the evidence and a copy of the nonpublication request.
Once the Office verifies that the nonpublication request was properly filed and it was improperly processed, the Office will withdraw the application from the publication process if there is sufficient time to remove it (e.g., at least 4 weeks prior to the projected publication date shown on the filing receipt). Thus, it is important for applicant to promptly check the filing receipt and notify the Office of Pre-Grant Publication of any improperly processed nonpublication request.