In this guide 6 sections
An IP docket tracks every date that can end or weaken a right. That means the priority date, filing and publication dates, office action deadlines, grant or registration, and renewals. Software calculates each from a trigger event and the office’s rules, then reminds staff.
Priority date: the date everything counts from
The priority date is the filing date of the first application for an invention or mark. Later foreign filings can claim it, if made within the period set by the Paris Convention rules.
Miss that window and the first filing may become prior art against your own later application. Few errors in an IP practice cost more. It cannot be repaired. Not later, not by petition.
A docket should hold the priority application number, country and date, then compute the last day to file abroad.
- Priority application number and office
- Last day to claim priority abroad
- Related PCT or national phase entries
- Inventor or applicant of record
Filing, publication and examination dates
The filing date fixes the application in the queue. Publication follows after a set period, and many patent offices require a separate request for examination.
Trademarks follow their own path, with filing, formal check, examination, publication for opposition and registration. Each step has a date and often a statutory window.
Store two dates. One is when the event happened. The other is when the next step falls due. Reports then show applications stuck between steps.
Office action deadlines and extensions
An office action is the examiner’s written objection or rejection. The reply has a deadline set by the office, and many allow paid extensions.
Record the date the action was issued, the date received, the response due date and the final extendable date. Offices count from different starting points.
Assign the draft to a named attorney and set a reminder well before the response date. A paralegal should confirm filing receipt after submission.
- Issue date and receipt date of the action
- Statutory and extended response deadlines
- Attorney responsible and reviewer
- Filing receipt and next expected event
Grant, registration and renewal dates
Once a patent is granted or a mark registered, the work moves to maintenance. Patents usually need periodic annuity or maintenance fees. Trademarks need renewal at intervals set by the register.
Missing a renewal can mean loss of rights. Restoration, where it exists, is slow. A docket should show the due date, the grace period if one exists and the owner’s instructions. Do not rely on memory.
Client decisions belong on the record. If the owner chooses to abandon a patent, the instruction and date should be filed.
How docketing software calculates and flags dates
Good software holds rule sets for each office. You enter the trigger event, such as the filing date or office action date, and the system computes the deadline.
Alerts should reach more than one person. If one shared inbox receives every alert, nothing reaches the team when its owner is on leave.
Audit the rule sets twice a year. Offices change their practice, so check a few computed dates against the official source.
IP docket date reference sheet
Columns on a single page cover event, trigger date, rule source, deadline, grace or extension, responsible person and reminder lead time. Rows cover priority, filing, publication, examination request, office action, grant or registration, opposition window and each renewal or annuity.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between a priority date and a filing date?
The priority date is the first filing that later foreign applications may claim. A filing date belongs to each individual application, including the later ones.
Can docketing software replace checking the official rules?
No. It applies stored rules. Someone must verify them against the office’s current guidance and confirm unusual cases by hand.
Who should receive deadline reminders?
The responsible attorney, a backup and the paralegal who files. Escalate to the partner as the final date nears.
Do trademarks and patents share one docket?
Often yes, with separate rule sets. A shared view lets a client see all their rights and renewals in one list.