Don't try to use different PDF writers

When you generate a PDF file, the software leaves a comment inside the PDF file that tells what particular software generated the PDF file.

The PDF files that are created by EFS-ABX are created using software called ABXPDFwriter. This is software that comes from the USPTO as part of the EFS package. When you install ABXPDFwriter it adds another printer to your computer. The printer is called ABXPDFwriter. You can see an example of this in the figure at right. ABXPDFwriter leaves such a comment inside each PDF file that it creates.

To see this, open a PDF file with Acrobat, and click file/documentproperties/summary. For a patent application that I e-filed recently, such PDF files list a "creator" of "pscript5.dll version 5.2" and a "producer" of "gnu ghostscript 7.06". You can see this in the "document summary" in the figure at right.

What I have been told by a USPTO person is that at least one e-filer has fiddled around with their ABX configuration to get it to use a PDF writer other than the ABXPDFwriter provided by the USPTO. And that the PDF files generated by that PDF writer don't play well with IFW.

So the moral of the story here is that if you want your e-filings to go smoothly and to minimize the risk of substantive rights due to problems ... you should stick with the ABXPDFwriter provided by the USPTO.