@jonah-soundhound-com
Agreed! I have a task to "Pay foreign associate," although it could be more generally "Pay vendor," such as draftsman. I'd like to be able to store the vendor's invoice number and invoice amount in the Task, then use those fields in generating e-mail messages. It would be even more useful if Tasks were augmented to be able to Create Form Letters (for example, as Matter Detail pages can do). Then, I could print the vendor's check from the Task, and print a payment cover letter from the Task, and send the vendor a payment advice via e-mail, all from the Task. Some of this would require expanding the number of fields that return values in Tasks. For example, currently {Matter.ForeignAssociate} returns a value, but {Matter.ForeignAssociate.Company} and {Matter.ForeignAssociate.Street} do not return values within a Task.

This situation is a reason to support multi-level fields, such as {Task.Matter.ForeignAssociate} or {Task.Matter.ForeignAssociate.Company} or {Task.Matter.ForeignAssociate.Street}.

Another useful user field would be check number, to record the check with which I paid the vendor. All these fields could, of course, be user-defined, as Jonah suggests. But, the number of fields that return values in Tasks needs to be expanded, and Tasks need to be able to Create Form Letters. (I will post these as separate suggestions.)

Creating really powerful templates requires an ability to embed calculations, "if-then" logic, and database queries in fields.

1. For example, when reporting paying an issue fee, it is nice to provide at least an estimated expiration date. If all maintenance fees are timely paid, the patent is scheduled to expire on {Matter.ExpiredDate(MMMM d, yyyy)} or {Matter.FilingDate(+20y MMMM d, yyyy)} + {Matter.PatentTermAdjustment(0)} days, assuming no terminal disclaimer is involved. It would be very nice to be able to perform that arithmetic automatically, along the lines of:

{Matter.ExpiredDate(+{Matter.PatentTermAdjustment}d MMMM d, yyyy)}

2. The only current logic capability I am aware of is to specify alternative text to be inserted when a field is empty:

{!No Client Ref Specified!Matter.ClientRef}

It would be great to expand this logic capability.

For example, the due date to file an Article 19 Amendment is the later of {Task.RespondBy(-1m MMMM d, yyyy)} or {Matter.PriorityDate(+16m MMMM d, yyyy)}. It would be better if a template could include something like:

The due date to file an Article 19 Amendment is {LaterOf {Task.RespondBy(-1m MMMM d, yyyy)}, {Matter.PriorityDate(+16m MMMM d, yyyy)} }.

Although the prior example refers to dates, numerical comparisons might be useful, too.

3. To report when the next European (3rd to nth) annuity payment will be due requires concatenating: (a) the application filing month, (b) the last day of that month, and (c) the current year (if the month has not yet occurred this year) or the next year (if the month has already occurred this year). But, I know of no way to do anything close to this with the present template document field syntax. I suggest adding support for syntax along the lines of:

{Matter.FilingDate(MMMM dlast)}, {if {Matter.FilingDate(MonthDayOf)} < {General.Now(MonthDayOf)} then {General.Now(yyyy)} else {General.Now(+1y yyyy)} }

or

{Matter.FilingDate(MMMM LastDayOf)}, ...

I realize this is asking for a significant addition to the capability of the syntax parser, essentially turning it into an interpreter. But, we would be able to write really useful templates.

Thanks,
George

I don't like to retype or copy/paste when I don't have to. Recording assignments requires LOTS of error-prone and mind numbing typing and/or copying and pasting. However, most of the information required by ePAS is already in a Matter Detail record. So, why not have AppColl generate an XML file that ePAS (USPTO Electronic Patent Assignment System) will ingest? Since AppColl now supports TXT files, and an XML file is just a TXT file with a different filename extension, it can be done.

The attached file (actually, a PDF of a TXT file, because the forum does not allow uploading TXT files) does almost everything that I need. Store the TXT file as a Form Letter in AppColl, then generate a document in the Matter Details page, and almost all of the information needed to record the assignments goes into the generated TXT file. Lightly edit the TXT file with a text editor (if you use a word processor, be careful to output a TXT file), and you can then upload the TXT file into ePAS. (ePAS accepts TXT and XML files.) See instructions in the comments section at the beginning of the attached document about what you have to edit in the TXT file. I have lobbied AppColl to add some capabilities, such as per-inventor assignment execution dates, but until these are implemented, you will have to enter the execution dates manually. You have to be fastidious, because ePAS is notoriously finicky, and in some places inconsistent. So, pay attention to the instructions.

The attached document is built to handle up to 20 assignors and one assignee, but you can extend that, if you want.

I provide this file FYI, without support or warranty.

ePAS Assignment Recordation Upload.pdf

Each contact has a "role," such as inventor, employee, client, or company. For contacts that have relationships to entities, for example, inventors, employees, or paralegals, who are associated with clients or foreign associates, it would be nice to have the option to specify the contact's preferred contact information (mailing address, phone number, etc.) is the same as for the corresponding entity, maybe via check boxes next to these fields. Otherwise, when an entity moves, I have to change the addresses of all the people associated with that entity. I realize I could use the address, etc. fields for people to store only their personal contact information, but that defeats automatic generation of reporting letters, such as those that must be sent via paper (ex. original Letters Patent). It would also make it easier to be consistent in the way correspondence gets addressed. For example, it would avoid sending one contact's correspondence to "The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc." and sending another contact's correspondence to "Draper Laboratory."
Thanks.
George

@MarkW5689 I can't remember where I found them, but here are some invoice fields:

Invoice Balance
Invoice BillTo
ex. {Invoice.BillTo.First} {Invoice.BillTo.Last} {Invoice.BillTo.Company} {Invoice.BillTo.EmailCC} {Invoice.BillTo.EmailNoCC}
These values are determined by the “Bill To” field in an invoice. This field accepts a Contact, so the subfields are determined from the Contact record.
Invoice Client
ex. {Invoice.Client.Name} {Invoice.Client.IntakeEmailAddress}
(See notes re BillTo.)
Invoice Comments
Invoice CutoffDate
Invoice Description
Invoice DueDate
Invoice Expenses
Invoice Fees
Invoice InvoiceAmount
Invoice InvoiceDate
Invoice InvoiceNos
Invoice LEDESFile
Invoice Locked
Invoice Modified
Invoice PaidOnDate
Invoice Payment
Invoice PaymentTerms
Invoice PDFFile
Invoice RemitTo
ex. {Invoice.RemitTo.Name} {Invoice.RemitTo.EmailNoCc
(See notes re BillTo.)
Invoice SendToQuickBooks
Invoice StartDate
Invoice Status
Invoice WriteOffs

I'd like to resurrect this thread.
As @RichardS3059 noted, there are several instances where we would like to include text from a first field (if that field is not blank), but include text from a second field (if the first field is blank), and some of us prefer "a programmatic way to accomplish the result over fields that have field-specific logic embedded into them, because they allow a more generalized result."
Examples of this situation include PTO filings (responses to Office Actions, etc.) and client correspondence that reference:

1. a client-specific USPTO customer number (if the client has one), or the firm's customer number (if the client doesn't have one) (Some of my clients want me to use their customer number, rather than mine.)
2. a client-specific USPTO deposit account number (if the client has one), or the firm's deposit account number (if the client doesn't have one)
3. actual filing date vs official filing date vs priority date.

Please consider adding syntax that enables run-time selection of alternative text, such as when a first field is blank.

@RichardS3059 posted a possible syntax:
{{Matter.ClientContact.Nickname},{Matter.ClientContact.FirstName}}
and he suggested a more generalized IF syntax be created, which is a great idea.

I suggested syntax along the lines of:
{!{Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.First}!Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.Nickname}

Thanks,
George

Some of my clients demand receipts to justify expenses greater than a predetermined dollar amount. When I incur an expense, such as paying a foreign associate or a USPTO fee, I create a billing item.

1. I wish I could attach documentation in support of the expense to the billing item for later reference.

I like the predefined templates in the billing items for USPTO fees. I've added templates for paying a foreign associate, paying for shipping documents, paying for patent drawings, etc. So, creating billing items is easy. Furthermore, billing items carry over into bills generated by AppCol, and these bills (with expenses) carry over into Quickbooks, which I use for accounting.

2. It would be nice if any attachments to billing items would automatically get attached to billing e-mail messages generated by AppCol.

However, as it turns out, I don't send bills to this client (the one that wants receipts) from the AppCol billing module, because this client wants me to upload its bills as LEDES files through Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker. AppCol generates the LEDES files without a problem, which is nice.

However, when I upload a LEDES file, I have to go back to the e-mail file and try to find the receipt(s). It would be better if I could have attached the receipt(s) to the billing item in the first place.

3. It would be great if the billing module made it easy to download any attachments to billing items, so I could then upload them to Legal Tracker.

Thanks,
George

The Manage Invoices module generates a Balance (current amount due plus past due invoices). However, this does not seem to be a field I can access, which is unfortunate. It would be nice to be able to include this in a cover e-mail message when I send an invoice.
Would anyone else find such a field useful?

I like to address my reporting and instruction letters using nicknames, if the recipients have nicknames. The contacts module conveniently has a Nickname field, so my letter template could include something like:

Dear {Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.Nickname}:

However, many contacts do not have nicknames, so their Nickname fields are empty. It would be very nice if I could put something like:

{!{Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.First}!Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.Nickname}

in my letter template to use the Nickname field if it is not blank, but use the First field if the Nickname field is blank. I suspect this syntax would also be very handy in relation to other fields.

I realize I could go through all my contacts and, for those who don't have nicknames, copy their first names into their respective Nickname fields, but being a former software developer, I'm lazy.

Is there another way to accomplish my goal?

Thanks,
George

@gregg_appcoll Perfect! Thanks.

I can now automatically address e-mail correspondence to examiners, such as to request interviews. In the "To" field, I put:

{Matter.Examiner} <{Matter.Examiner(FirstWord)}.{Matter.Examiner(LastWord ToTitleCase)}@USPTO.gov>

and in the salutation, I put:

Dear Examiner {Matter.Examiner(LastWord ToTitleCase)}:

-George

@ChristianS9906 Whereas AppColl already implemented the change you requested, I'm reluctant to request they change it back. I don't know to what extent others have strong or weak feelings about e-mail addresses with or without aliases (display names). You and I have stated our preference and reasons. It would be interesting to see if anyone else expresses an opinion.

@ChristianS9906 Thanks. My e-mail templates essentially already include your suggestion. The "To" field is populated by:

{Matter.ClientContact.First+032}{Matter.ClientContact.Last+032}{+060Matter.ClientContact.EmailNoCC+062+044+032}{Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.First} {Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.Last} <{Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.EmailNoCC}>

and the "CC" field is populated by:

{Matter.Client.PrimaryContact.EmailCC+059+032}Auto-docket mailbox for matter {Matter.AttorneyRef} <{Matter.EmailIntakeAddress}>

This works well for e-mail messages generated within AppColl.

However, I often copy the matter auto-intake e-mail address from a matter detail page and paste that address into a new (or reply) e-mail message in Outlook (my mail agent), i.e., a message not generated by AppColl. This is where the alias comes in handy, because although I send that message from Outlook, a copy gets stored in AppColl, and if the client responds to "all," a copy of the response gets stored in AppColl.

@ChristianS2558 I actually like the alias that prepends the auto-intake e-mail address. Often, I send e-mail messages from Outlook, because I have large attachments that AppColl can't handle, or I'm responding to a message that was sent only to my Outlook address, not to an AppColl matter. I like to CC the auto-intake mailbox for the corresponding matter. I like the alias appearing in the message, because it indicates to the recipient (typically a client) what the "funny" address is and, hopefully, encourages the recipient to "respond to all," so a copy of the response ends up being stored in the "email" folder of the corresponding matter.
I suppose mine may be a minority view.
-George

@gregg_appcoll Yes, the issue I pointed out occurs on the "Payments Summary" page, which is the first page of my invoice and includes the client's mailing address, so it is the first page the client sees when he opens the invoice. Adding some text to clarify that the "Items through..." date covers payments and retainers (but not billing items) would be helpful. Thanks.
In addition, it would be nice to have the invoice (perhaps optionally) show the period covered, i.e. the cut-off date.
George

When adding a new invoice in the Manage Invoices module, AppColl requires a "Cut-off Date."

No Billing Items after this date are included in the bill, which makes sense.
The generated bill shows the date it was generated (see green outline), which also makes sense. However, the generated bill says "Items through <date>" (see red outline), where <date> is the generated-on date, NOT the Cut-off Date.

This is misleading to the client. In the example shown here, the bill was generated on October 3, 2024, but it includes items only through the end of September. Yet, the bill appears on its face to cover through October 3. If my next bill to this client includes billing items dated 10/1 - 10/3, the client will think I am billing him twice.
Please change the way the Manage Invoices module inserts the "Items through" date to put the "Cut-off Date," not the generated-on date. Thanks.
-George

Request: A task or event can be triggered "when any email is received" and, of course, the task trigger can include additional requirements, such as "while the sender email address or subject of the email contains contains <a specific text string>". This is a very powerful facility. It would be more powerful if the task could be defined to automatically attach or link the triggering e-mail message to the triggered event or task, and that message or link could be passed on to subsequently-triggered tasks. Currently, one can only manually attach a document, such as an e-mail message, to a task.
Currently, one can include e-mail fields, such as {Email.Body}, in the task, such as in the task's Default Comment. However, text formatting, such as underlining, is lost. Furthermore, including the entire body can add many lines to the task Comment, making the task very large when displayed in a matter detail page or on the All Open Tasks list. Attaching or linking the entire e-mail message to the task would overcome these shortcomings.
Reason for the request: I send an e-mail message to a matter's intake mailbox after an examiner calls me with a telephonic restriction requirement, to document the call. In the body of the message, I summarize the restriction requirement, and sometimes I include comments or notes about possible responses. Often, I use underlining to highlight differences between claim groups.
I defined an event ("Receive Telephonic Restriction Requirement”) that is triggered when a matter receives such an e-mail message, i.e., a message from me with "telephonic restriction requirement" in the subject.

This event triggers another task I defined (“Respond to Telephonic Restriction Requirement”). I modeled my new tasks after similarly-named pre-defined AppColl tasks, although the "Respond to..." task has a internal deadline of five days.
It would be very handy to see the text formatting when I work on the restriction requirement.
Suggested implementation: Augment the "Files:" "Add" button dialog, as follows. Change "Select form to be added when tasks of this type are created" to "Select form or triggering e-mail message to be added when tasks of this type are created." Add a radio button for "Triggering e-mail message." The triggering e-mail message is already in the Email folder for the matter.

Optionally or alternatively: Add a checkboxes to New/Update Task Type details page. Under the "Trigger Event:" "Add" button, add a check box for "Attach triggering e-mail message" and a checkbox for "Link triggering e-mail message." Obviously, the checkboxes would be effective only if the task is triggered by receipt of an e-mail message.

Optionally or alternatively, if the Default Comment contains "{Email}," attach the triggering e-mail message to the task or include a clickable link to the e-mail message in the Comment.
In any case, ensure that another task that is triggered by the present task could "inherit" the attached or linked e-mail message, perhaps via {TriggeringTask.Comments}.
Broader applicability: Fulfilling this request might facilitate other uses, such as automatically triggering events upon receipt of e-mail correspondence from a foreign associate or a foreign patent office.
Thanks!
-George

A Tandem account seems like a nice way to let a client have controlled and limited access to my AppColl data. Currently, AppColl does not give Tandem users visibility into all the data that I have for that client's matters. For example, as viewed in a Tandem synch'ed account, no matter details page displays any tasks. I can understand why some (maybe many) attorneys wouldn't want their clients to see all tasks for that client's matters, especially if the attorney is behind on his/her docket.

However, I would like to make my tasks visible to a particular client, and I wonder if other AppColl users would also like to be able to do the same. If so, I suggest adding a switch (or maybe several switches) to turn on visibility to Tandem users (on a per-client basis) to various currently-hidden data caches, such as Tasks and the Notes fields in e-mail messages.

Thanks,
George

I often know a foreign cost, such as a foreign filing fee, in a local currency, but not an equivalent US dollar (USD) amount. For example, my foreign associates often quote or estimate costs in their local currency. I can store the local-currency cost in a custom matter field or a task field (maybe {Task.BudgetExpense}), but I would like to report it to my client in USD equivalent.

When generating a reporting letter or a letter requesting instructions (such as for requesting examination), it would be handy if AppColl provided a mechanism to call an API to convert a foreign currency to USD. Several such APIs exist, and some provide several hundred free conversions per month. (See, for example, Currency Beacon, Currency API, and Exchange Rates API.)

Please consider adding a field that calls an external API, for example something along the lines of:

{CallAPI.https://api.currencybeacon.com/v1/convert?api_key=abcdefghijklmnopqrst&from={Matter.CurrencySymbol}&to=USD&amount={Task.BudgetExpense}("value",0.00)}

This syntax includes the URL of the API and four parameters to pass to the API (each parameter begins with a question mark): an API key (assigned to a user when the user signs up for an account), a "from" currency symbol (in this example, extracted from a custom matter field), a "to" currency symbol, and an amount (extracted from a task field).

Most of these APIs return values in JSON. The parenthetical in my suggested syntax provides information on what part of the returned JSON values AppColl should return for its field. In this example, the API returns a bunch of things, including the converted USD as "value" followed by a floating point number (ex, "value 62.156").
"0.00" in the parenthetical is the standard AppColl number formatting specification (return a floating point number, with two decimal places).

If AppColl could pull this off, it might have wider applicability, because there may be other useful APIs that could be called, such as EPO OPS (the European Patent Office's Open Patent Services API). The key is for the syntax to allow the AppColl user to: (1) call a URL, including passing parameters, some of which may be extracted from fields, and (2) give the AppColl field evaluator a hint about what to return from the JSON values.

I know this is a big ask, but if we don't dream big, we won't be able to succeed spectacularly.

Edit 1: Alternatively, AppColl could do the foreign currency exchange rate conversion and return the equivalent USD in response to a "ToUSD" text formatting command (somewhat like the "ToUpper" text formatting command). I suggest syntax something like:

{Task.BudgetExpense(ToUSD, {Matter.CurrencySymbol}, 0.00)}

Of course, AppColl would have to subscribe to a foreign exchange API, but the cost would be minimal.

Edit 3: AppColl could assume the "from" currency symbol based on the country code of the matter, although this might not be a safe assumption. For example, my Malaysian cases are handled through an Australian associate, so I pay in AUD, not MYR.

Edit 2: In case anyone wants to try any of the free foreign exchange rate APIs listed above or others, here is a hint: Many of them limit HTTPS requests to paying customers, and they require free accounts to call the APIs with plain HTTP requests. So, ensure your request is in HTTP, not HTTPS.

But, some browsers may be set to "HTTPS-only." In this case, the browser will change all HTTP requests into HTTPS requests behind your back. Thus, the browser will change an HTTP API call into an HTTPS request, which will fail with an "unauthorized" or similar error.

If this happens, add an exception URL to the browser's list (forcing the browser not to change HTTP to HTTPS request for the excepted URL). For example, Firefox > Settings... or Preferences (depending on OS) > Privacy & Security > (scroll to HTTPS-Only Mode) > Manage Exceptions ... > (enter URL of the API in "Address of website" and click "Turn off") > Save Changes.

Thanks,
George

@gregg_appcoll And please support multiple documents per signature package. Thanks.

-George

@gregg_appcoll DocuSign accepts a list of people, to whom a "package" [Edit: DocuSign calls it an "envelope."] is then sent.

The package can contain several documents, which is economical, because a DocuSign subscription includes a fixed number of packages per month, regardless the number of documents in each package or number of recipients of the packages. Having each declaration and each assignment sent as a separate DocuSign package would quickly exhaust my monthly subscription limit.

After filing a patent application at the USPTO, I send a DocuSign package to the inventors, assignee, the AppColl matter-specific e-mail address, and (in some cases) in-house patent counsel. I designate the inventor and assignee addresses "Needs to sign," and I designate the AppColl matter and in-house counsel addresses "Receives a copy." "Receives a copy" recipients receive read-only copies of the package.

The package contains a copy of the application (as filed, including drawings), a declaration(s), and an assignment. It is important to include a copy of the application, to ensure there is no doubt the inventors have seen the application and can, therefore, make the required statements ("The above-identified application was made or authorized to be made by me" and "I believe that I am the original inventor or an original joint inventor of a claimed invention in the application.") I use the declarations generated by AppColl. I have a "form letter" assignment that AppColl fills in with bibliographic information (application number, inventor names, etc.) (See my Top/FormLetters/Assignment.docx)

I also have an AppColl form letter (see Top/FormLetters/DocuSign - Assignment and declaration cover letter) that AppColl fills in with specifics. I copy the contents of the generated letter into the subject line and cover letter fields DocuSign provides.

DocuSign sends the packages simultaneously to everyone (unless I specify a "signing order," which I never do.) Each recipient's e-mail message includes a link to a DocuSign page, which guides the recipient to the place or places where the recipient needs to sign (if he/she needs to sign). In-house counsel can use the link to check who has signed and hound procrastinators. (On the DocuSign page, click "Other Actions" and select "View History." Look for things like: "xxx opened the envelope," "xxx viewed the envelope," and "xxx signed the envelope.") In addition, DocuSign sends reminders every ten days (the interval is selectable) to people who have not opened their e-mail messages, and DocuSign lets me know when everyone has signed. Having DocuSign send a message to the matter mailbox is handy for documenting what has happened and when.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

-George