U.S. Design “Rocket Docket” Grounded

The U.S. Patent Office’s program for expedited examination of design applications under 37 CFR 1.155 (often called the design “rocket docket”), which was suspended earlier this year, was formally canceled in an amended federal rule announced on August 14, 2025.

The rocket docket enabled patent applicants to significantly speed up examination of a design patent application. Normally, the waiting time from filing a design patent application to receiving a first office action (an examination report) is a year or more. The rocket docket drastically cut that waiting time—often to three months or less. To enter the program, a patent applicant needed to submit a request, compliant drawings, and the results from a preexamination search, as well as pay patent office fees.

The rocket docket provided an important path for obtaining rapid design patent protection in the U.S. This could be critical where market conditions change quickly and/or where new designs are in vogue for a limited period, such as is the case for certain types of apparel, accessories, and decor. Additionally, the rocket docket could enable design innovators to quickly obtain patent rights for enforcement against copiers and for use in negotiations with potential partners.

In canceling the program, the U.S. Patent Office said an “extraordinary” situation existed and that “justice” required it. Specifically, the U.S. Patent Office said there had been a significant increase in the number of requests for expedited examination of design applications, which negatively impacted the pendency of all design applications. The U.S. Patent Office also cited an increase in the number of erroneous micro entity certifications from applicants who do not qualify for micro entity status, combined with use of the expedited examination procedure by these applicants. Supposedly, this combination led to longer wait times for all applicants seeking design patents. Why complete cancelation of the program was appropriate, rather than adjustments to the program or better enforcement of fee qualifications, was not explained.

Despite the rocket docket’s cancelation, other paths for expediting design applications continue to exist. For example, unlike in utility patent applications, the Accelerated Examination program remains in effect for design patent applications. Additionally, a design patent application can be “made special” and advanced out of turn for no fee if an inventor is at least 65 years of age or has a health condition such that they might not be available to assist in the prosecution of the application if it were to run its normal course. See MPEP 708.02(a). Thus, while the rocket docket may be grounded, other options survive for rapidly launching design patent applications.