Patent Law Updates | New Statutes, Regulations and Rules
January 25, 2010
USPTO Launches Pilot Program to Accelerate Patent Process for Small Entity Inventors
Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan
Docket No. PTO–P–2009–0040, 11/27/2009
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has launched a pilot program that will give small entity inventors having two or more patent applications currently pending greater control over the priority in which their applications are examined while also reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications pending before the USPTO.
This pilot program will allow a patent application from a small entity to receive special, accelerated status if the applicant is willing to abandon an application that has not been examined.
The USPTO explained that new patent applications are normally taken up for examination in the order of their…
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