On June 3, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced a proposed initiative intended to help reduce the backlog of patent applications and reduce examination pendency at the USPTO.  Under the proposed initiative, for a patent application first filed in the US, an applicant may request examination in any of the following three tracks:

Track I:  prioritized examination
Track II:  traditional examination under the current procedures
Track III:  for non-continuing applications first filed in the USPTO, an applicant-controlled delay for up to 30 months prior to docketing for examination.

In addition, for applications based on a prior foreign-filed applications, no action would be taken until the USPTO receives a copy of the search report, if any, and first office action from the foreign office as well as an appropriate reply to the foreign office action as if the foreign office action was made in the application filed in the USPTO.

The proposed initiative is intended to decrease overall pendency by:

1.  increasing resources in Track I to increase output;
2.  reusing search and examination work done by other patent  offices;
3.  the belief that some applicants who chose Track III might not ultimately pursue their applications; and
4. the belief that some applicants who first file abroad will not ultimately pursue their applications in the US.

Additional information concerning the proposed initiative is provided in the Federal Register: June 4, 2010.  Public input has been requested.  A public meeting will be held on July 20 at 1:30 p.m. at the USPTO and written comments must be submitted to the USPTO by August 20, 2010.

As a patent attorney whose clients have experienced some exceptionally long pendency in the patent examination process, I am happy to see the USPTO proposing realistic actions to address the patent examination backlog.

Tags: patent examination, patent law, uspto