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USPTO Updates Rules for "Track I" Fast-Track Patent

20-Dec-2011 | Source : | Visits : 8895
WASHINGTON - The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today in a press release a final rule change permitting applicants to request prioritized examination for applications after the filing of a request for continued examination. The changes in this final rule are applicable to any patent application in which a proper request for continued examination has been filed before, on, or after Dec. 19, 2011.

“Our goal is to continually provide patent applicants with a variety of processing options that are more responsive to their real-world needs,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos.

Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September, the USPTO began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications through the Track I prioritized patent examination program.

Track I, which is part of the USPTO’s Three-Track Program, provides applicants with greater control over when their applications are examined and promote greater efficiency in the patent examination process. Track I allows inventors and businesses, for a fee, to have their patents processed within 12 months.
Under the procedure set forth in this final rule, once the application is accorded special status after the filing of a request for continued examination it will be placed on the examiner’s special docket throughout its entire course of continued prosecution before the examiner until a final disposition is reached in the application.
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